Chapter 26 Chapter 26
Lucien
The moment her mouth opened those breathless, shaky words spilling out like she was about to pull away from me again something in me snapped.
I didn't think. My hand closed around her wrist and I dragged her toward me with a force I'd been holding back for far too damn long. Her back hit the wall, and I caged her in before she could talk herself out of what we both knew she'd come here for.
The second our lips touched, everything inside me lit up every thought vanished, leaving only the sharp, undeniable feeling of her. She melted into me in that way she always does like she hates it, like she fights it, like she needs it just as much as I do. Her breath hitched against my mouth, and the sound alone nearly undid me.
I brought my free hand to her jaw, tilting her face toward me, deepening the kiss. She tasted exactly the same sweet, familiar, dangerous. The kind of danger I'd walk straight into every time.
Her fingers curled against my chest, sliding upward, gripping me like she didn't want space between us. That small, desperate hold sent heat rolling through me, tightening my breath. I pressed closer, letting my body speak the truth I couldn't say aloud I want you. More than I should. More than I can control.
She made a small, shaky sound against my lips, and I felt it all the way down my spine. I moved my mouth against hers, slow for a moment, teasing her lips, drawing another breathy response from her. She tilted her head, giving me more access, and the trust in that small movement almost made the room tilt.
Her hands slid to my neck, her fingertips warm, trembling just a little. She pulled me closer, and the need in that gesture made my control thin to a thread.
I broke the kiss just long enough to breathe her in my forehead resting against hers, our breaths mixing, both of us unsteady. Her eyes were half-lidded, her lips swollen from my mouth, and the sight of her like this wanting me, choosing me set something fierce and protective alight inside my chest.
Before she could speak before doubt could return I kissed her again, slower this time, deeper, letting her feel every ounce of the tension I'd been carrying. Her body responded instantly, leaning into me, her breath catching as her fingers tightened behind my neck.
I knew this was forbidden. I knew I should stop. I knew what my father would do if he found out.
But with her pressed against the wall, her mouth soft and eager under mine, her heartbeat racing beneath my palms there was no force on earth strong enough to pull me away.
I broke free from the kiss and scooped her up, her hands tightening around my shoulders in surprise, and carried her toward the bed. She didn't protest. Not even once. She only held on to me, her face close to mine, her breathing uneven and shaky like she knew exactly how thin my control was.
The mattress dipped beneath her weight as I laid her down gently, but there was nothing gentle about the way I hovered over her, bracing myself with one hand beside her head. She looked up at me with those wide, conflicted eyes... eyes begging me to stop and begging me not to in the same breath.
"Lucien..." she whispered, her voice trembling.
That sound alone nearly undid me. I lowered my mouth to her neck, tracing slow, lingering kisses along her skin. She arched slightly, trying failing to hold in the response building inside her. Her fingers slid into my hair, clutching softly, betraying how badly she wanted this.
I moved down her collarbone, her chest rising with each breath she tried to steady, and then lower kissing every inch of skin I could reach. Every soft intake of air. Every tremble. Every time she bit her lip to keep quiet.
"You don't have to hide from me," I murmured against her skin, my voice rough with restraint. "Not your thoughts. Not your feelings. Not this."
She made a choked sound small, desperate and her hand tightened against my shoulder. She was fighting herself, I could feel it in every tiny movement. Fighting the desire. Fighting the guilt. Fighting the way her body reacted the moment I touched her.
I kissed lower, over her breast savoring the way she shivered beneath me. When I reached her stomach, she sucked in a sharp breath, her fingers sliding down to grip the sheets.
"Valentina," I said softly, looking up at her, my mouth still pressed to her skin. "You're trembling."
"I—I'm fine," she whispered, but her voice shook too much to be convincing.
I smiled against her stomach. "No, you're trying not to make a sound." I pressed another slow kiss just above her hip and felt her whole body tense. "You don't have to do that with me."
Her legs shifted instinctively, opening just a little an unconscious invitation, a surrender she didn't even realize she'd given. I moved between them, my hands sliding along her thighs, thumbs brushing soothing circles over her skin.
She gasped softly, her breath catching, her hand flying to her mouth to silence herself.
I caught her wrist and gently pulled it away.
"Let me hear you," I whispered. "If you want me... then don't hide it."
Her eyes fluttered, torn between fear and need, her body trembling beneath my touch. Every part of her told me she was fighting a war inside between what was forbidden and what she felt. Between guilt and hunger. Between loyalty and the piece of her heart that had already started leaning toward me.
"You're going to break me," she whispered, voice shaking.
I leaned up, my lips brushing her inner thigh as I spoke, my breath warm against her skin.
"No," I murmured. "I'm going to make you stop pretending you don't want me."
Her breath faltered shallow, desperate and she pressed her head back against the pillow, biting down on her lower lip so hard it almost hurt to watch.
She was trying not to moan. Trying not to give in. Trying not to prove how much control I had over her without even touching her where she feared most. And God... it made me want her even more.
"Lucien..." she breathed, but it was barely a word, more a plea, more a surrender.
I moved back up her body, leaving slow kisses along her skin until my face hovered above hers. Her lips were parted, swollen, trembling like she couldn't decide if she wanted to pull me down or push me away.
"You came to my room," I whispered against her mouth. "You knocked. You asked for this."
Her breath hitched, her fingers tightening around mine. She didn't deny it.
I cupped her cheek with my free hand, brushing my thumb along her jaw, forcing her eyes to stay on mine.
"You're not breaking," I said softly. "You're choosing."
Her other hand slid to the back of my neck and pulled me down into a kiss hungry, shaky, full of every emotion she'd tried to bury. She kissed me like she'd been starving for me, like she hated how much she needed me, like she couldn't keep pretending she didn't feel this.
I groaned quietly against her mouth, feeling her body arch into mine, every line of her fitting against me as though she'd been made to. Her legs shifted again, opening for me wider.
Her breath mingled with mine, warm and ragged.
"Lucien..." she whispered into the kiss, her voice trembling. "I shouldn't—"
I silenced her with another kiss, slower this time, deeper, letting her feel the softness, the reverence, the part of me that wanted her for more than the desire burning through us.
Her hands slid down my back, clinging tight, her body lifting subtly to meet mine. Her breath came in small, desperate bursts, each one making it harder for me to hold myself together.
I kissed along her jaw, her throat, the curve of her shoulder anywhere I could reach without losing my mind. She made another quiet sound, her fingers gripping my skin.
"You feel this," I whispered at her ear. "Don't lie to yourself."
She swallowed, her entire body responding to my words with a shiver she couldn't hide.
"Lucien..." she tried again, but her voice broke halfway through my name.
I lowered my forehead to hers, my breath mixing with hers, both of us shaking under the weight of what we were choosing.
"You want more," I murmured. "Say it."
Her eyes fluttered shut, her lips parting in a trembling exhale. She didn't speak at first, just lay there beneath me, fighting herself. Then, finally, barely above a whisper:
"I want... you."