29

29
Lucian

I took things further.

My hand slid up, slow and deliberate, until it cupped her breast through her shirt. She gasped—soft and sharp—and her whole body went still, like she couldn’t believe this was happening.

She didn’t stop me.

Of course, she didn’t.

I wasn’t surprised.

She leaned in, pressing closer, her breath shaky. I could feel her heart racing beneath my palm like a bird desperate to be caught.

I looked down at her, my expression unreadable—like I was testing myself just as much as I was testing her.

But the truth?

I felt nothing.

No heat. No desire. Just a calculation.

Just the awareness of how easy it was to make someone feel wanted when they were already starving for attention.

I leaned into her ear, lips barely brushing skin. “You’re soft,” I whispered, my voice low, intimate.

She whimpered. I knew I had her.

But I wasn’t here for her.

I was here for Halo.

And Jessica? She was just a pawn.

A sweet, breakable pawn in a game I intended to win.

She seemed so into it.

Breathless. Eyes fluttering shut. Pressed up against me like she thought this meant something.

And maybe for her, it did.

But for me?

I was already five moves ahead.

Because if I was right—and I usually was—Jessica wouldn’t hesitate if Lucian snapped his fingers. She’d probably crawl to his bed without question, desperate for even a scrap of his attention.

Eureka.

A thought sparked, dark and glittering.

What if I got her to seduce Lucian?
What if Halo saw that—saw her wrapped around Lucian’s neck like a ribbon—and broke?

He’d finally understand who Lucian was. That he wasn’t special to him. That he was just one more pretty thing Lucian used when it was convenient.

And maybe, just maybe, that would push Halo toward me.

But…

There was one complication.

Lucian seemed to be on a boys-only wavelength right now—well, Halo only, if we’re being honest. That could change, though. Lust was fluid. Weaknesses shifted. I just had to position the temptation right.

Still, to make it all work…

I had to sell this.

She had to believe I wanted her.

So yes, that meant going through with it. I needed to fuck her. Make her think I liked her. Maybe even make her fall.

Because once she did?

She’d do anything I asked.

Even if it meant tearing down the very boy I wanted to save… for myself.

So I took things further.

My hand slipped under her skirt, slow and deliberate.

She gasped—one of those breathy, startled sounds girls make when they think they’ve just stepped into something real. Her thighs tensed around my fingers, but she didn’t pull away. If anything, she leaned closer, her breath hitching in anticipation.

Easy.

Too easy.

Her pulse was pounding. Her eyes fluttered like she was trying to commit every second of this to memory.

But for me?

It was nothing more than a strategy.

A performance.

Every movement, every whispered word, was a step in a plan.

She moaned softly when I touched her, already melting—already his, if I needed her to be.

And that was all I needed to know.

She’d do it.

She’d sleep with Lucian if I asked her the right way. If I made her think he wanted it. If I made her believe it would mean something.

All I had to do was keep playing the part.

And wait for the moment when I could turn this entire game upside down.

I pulled down her sleeve, slow and unhurried, revealing her breasts.

Gods, they were fake. Done, clearly meant to impress—but I didn’t care.

I’m bi, after all.

Attraction was never my problem. Control was.

So I leaned in, kissed the soft swell of one, then bit down—just enough to make her gasp, to remind her who was guiding the moment.

She arched into me, one hand clinging to my shirt like she didn’t want it to end. Maybe she thought this meant we were connecting.

But we weren’t.

I wasn’t here with her. Not really.

My mind was somewhere else. Always circling back to him.

To Halo.

Every breath I took, every move I made with her, was laced with the image of his lips parted in defiance, his silence when he didn’t know how to answer me. His body—fragile and firm in the right ways, stubborn in all the places this girl would never understand.

Still, I let Jessica think this was about her.

Because if I played it right—if I pushed all the right buttons—she’d help me destroy the thing between Lucian and Halo.

And maybe then, once the dust settled, Halo would finally see—

He was never meant for Lucian.
He was always meant for me.

I guided her to her knees—slow, deliberate. She followed without question, eyes wide, like she couldn’t believe this was happening.

“In the library?” she whispered, hesitantly.

I smirked, brushing her hair back from her face, my thumb grazing her cheek.

“Don’t be afraid,” I murmured. “I want your moan to echo between the bookshelves. Let them hear how good you make me feel.”

Her lips parted, and a breathless noise escaped her throat as I unzipped my pants. Her gaze dropped, then flicked back up to me, nervous and eager.

“Take it slow,” I said, hand cradling the back of her head. “I want to feel everything.”

And she obeyed.

Just like I knew she would.

But even as her mouth wrapped around me, even as I leaned back against the shelf and let her think she was wrecking me, my mind wasn’t on her.

It was on the one person who wouldn't kneel so easily.

The one person I wanted more than this moment, more than this body, more than the sound of fake worship from someone too easy to please.

Halo.

Every thrust of my hips, every sigh from my lips—it wasn’t for Jessica.

It was for him.

And this? This was just another step closer to making him mine.