Chapter 20 ARIA
ARIA'S POV
I woke to warmth. Not just the kind that blankets your skin, but the kind that seeps into you, makes you want to melt back into it and stay there forever.
Lucian’s arm was draped around me, heavy and protective, his chest pressed against my back. His steady heartbeat thudded against my spine, and for a long moment, I didn’t move. I just breathed him in.
Nyra hummed softly in my head. “This… this is nice.”
I smiled into the pillow. “Yeah,” I whispered. “It is.”
We stayed like that until the sun started spilling pale light through the curtains.
Everything about this moment feels… right. Safe, in a way I’d almost forgotten existed. His arms are heavy around me, one draped lazily across my waist, the other tucked under my head like I might disappear if he let go.
I try to shift just a little, to look at his face, but his grip only tightens.
“Lucian,” I whisper softly, almost laughing.
He groans lowly in response, nuzzling into my hair. “Five more minutes,” he mutters sleepily, his voice thick with sleep, sending shivers down my spine.
I freeze, torn between wanting to stay still forever and needing to breathe. Eventually, I give up, sinking back into him with a quiet sigh.
Just a few more minutes, I tell myself.
Of course, a few minutes turn into me drifting back to sleep…until the sound of something shuffling near the bed wakes me.
When I woke up the second time, the space beside me was empty. For a moment, disappointment tugged at my chest, but it vanished when I saw the small figure standing by the bed.
Big brown eyes. Curly hair. Bare feet.
The little boy stared at me, clutching a stuffed wolf in his tiny hands.
“Oh,” I breathed, sitting up carefully so I wouldn’t scare him. “Hi there.”
He blinked at me, curious but not afraid. “Hi.”
I smiled. “What’s your name?”
“Eli… Elias,” he said, stumbling adorably over the second syllable. “But Sofia calls me ‘Eli’ sometimes.”
My heart melted. “That’s a nice name, Elias.”
He scuffed his foot on the rug. “You’re not mad?”
“Mad? No, of course not.”
He looked relieved. “Good. I saw your door open and wanted to see who you were. You smell nice.”
A startled laugh bubbled out of me. “Thank you.”
His small hand slipped into mine when I offered it. “Have you had breakfast yet?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No. I was going. You come?”
And just like that, I was following a two-year-old down the stairs, hand in hand.
The scent of food hit me before we even reached the kitchen. Josie stood by the counter, humming as she flipped something on the stove. At the table, a little girl with Lucian’s eyes was shoving blueberries into his mouth, giggling uncontrollably while he tried to talk around them. Another girl sat reading, completely unbothered by the chaos.
Josie looks up and smiles wide. “Ah, there you two are! I was about to come find this little troublemaker.”
Lucian’s head snapped up, relief flashing across his face when he saw me. “You should’ve stayed in bed. I was bringing breakfast up.”
“I’m fine,” I assured him, even though his concern made something flutter deep in my chest.
The girl with the blueberries squinted at me. “Who’s she?”
“I’m Aria,” I said softly. “And you are?”
“Sofia!” she chirped proudly.
The older one glanced up briefly from her book. “Lila,” she said before returning to her page, though a faint smile tugged at her lips.
Josie chuckled. “Well, it seems Elias already likes you. That’s rare.”
Lucian leaned back in his chair, amusement dancing in his eyes. “He usually runs from me.”
Elias pressed closer to my leg, and I ruffled his curls, smiling shyly. “I guess he made an exception.”
Lucian’s gaze lingered on me a beat too long, and my stomach did an unhelpful flip.
Breakfast passed in easy chatter. Sofia insisted I try Josie’s pancakes, Elias climbed onto my lap halfway through, and somehow, I ended up feeding him tiny spoonfuls of oatmeal while Lucian watched with an endearing look.
After we finished, Josie shooed us both upstairs. “Go on, you two. I’ll handle the dishes.”
Back in his room, Lucian ran a hand through his hair. “I really really don’t want to go, but there’s a council meeting I can’t skip.”
I smiled faintly. “Then go. I should probably head home anyway.”
His head snapped toward me. “No. Stay. Please.”
The sincerity in his tone made it impossible to say no.
Nyra sighed dreamily in the back of my mind. “You simply can't say no to that face.”
“I’ll stay,” I relented softly. “But I need to let my friends know and grab a few things.”
“Deal.”
He grinned, and I swear my knees wobbled a little. He disappeared into the bathroom, and I found myself alone in his space. The room was neat, almost too neat. Sparse. It felt like a place someone lived in but never really settled into.
My gaze drifted across the desk, the perfectly folded blanket, the untouched books on the shelf. For someone like Lucian it was strange that his room felt so… lonely.
I didn’t even hear the bathroom door open until the scent of soap and pine filled the air behind me.
“What are you looking at?” His voice was low, lazy.
I turned, and forgot how to breathe.
He stood there, towel slung over his shoulders, and another tied loosely and awfully low on his waist.
Damp hair tousled, droplets tracing the hard lines of his chest. The sight alone made heat curl through my belly.
“Just… your room,” I managed, my voice embarrassingly faint.
“Hmm,” he murmured, stepping closer, drying his hair with the towel. “Find anything interesting?”
My heart stumbled. “Maybe.”
He smiled slow, dangerous. His eyes darkened as they dragged over my face, pausing at my lips.
The air between us shifted. Heavy. Electric.
“Aria,” he said quietly, like my name was something sacred.
“Yes?”
He took another step, so close now that I could feel the heat of his skin.
“Can I…” His voice dropped to a husky whisper. “Can I kiss you?”
Every rational thought I had scattered. The world narrowed to the space between us, to the soft rise and fall of his chest, to the way my pulse leapt when his breath brushed my cheek.
“Yes,” I breathed.
He discards any space left between us as he holds me firm, his lips dragging lazily across my skin, all over my neck and face, until I feel them press against mine.
He freezes then, waiting a beat, giving me a chance to pull away, to change my mind, to run away but.., not this time I won't.
I fist his shirt and drag him to me until I slam my
mouth against his, our lips meeting in perfect bliss. I moan as mind-numbing sparks overwhelm me, casting pleasure throughout my body and tearing me apart.
Fuckkkk, it felt soo good.
I kiss Lucian like I'm starved for it. I felt
starved. Ravenous, I move my lips against his,
shivering from the rough brush of stubble against
my jaw. Goddess, even that felt good. I worship
Lucian's pliant lips, lost to how good he felt, barely
noticing that he wasn't kissing me back until he was.
But then he was, and oh Goddess.
Lucian’s hand in my hair yanks my head back,
making me whimper as his lips press in, moving over mine to claim without pause. His rough fingers force my hips into his, and he growls as I part my lips on a moan.
I feel the sharp jab of his canines as they descend, brushing cruelly against my lips as his tongue slips in to make me his. I cling to him, trembling from head to toe as he pulls me apart, flooding my mind with more pleasure than I knew existed.
It was euphoric. Perfect. Fucking insane. And I
wanted more.
"Lucie, please," I breathe between rough kisses,
craning my neck. "Please!"
"Anhg! F-Fuck!" I moan, trembling as he palms the
skin on my neck behind my ears, rubbing his thumbs in and forcing his scent into my body. "Oh yesssss! Lucie!" I yelp, but he swallows it with another bruising kiss.
Eyes rolling, I buck and moan, feeling like my mind
was falling apart from the feel of his wide, rough
hands leaving his scent all over me.
"Yes!" I whimper, body opening for him. "Oh,
Goddess! Yes!"
I was a trembling moaning mess, but Lucian didn't
make a sound. Besides his grunts and pants, he
was quiet, speaking only with his claiming mouth
and frenzied hands that had my nipples – bare under his shirt – hardening in seconds when it brushed against.
"W-Wait," I try, but it turns into a series of embarrassingly shrill whimpers when Lucian scrapes his fingers along my skin before he drags them over my hard nipples. "Ngh! A-Ahh! Oh, God! Yes!"
Growling so low my chest buckles, Lucian’s's lips nip into mine, kissing and licking into my mouth as his hips begin to thrust against mine. Oh God, no. He does it once more, driving his body against mine and I feel heat pooling between my legs, leaking with an eagerness, but it was too much- too much.
It was supposed to just be a kiss. Just a kiss.
"Lucie," I try to draw back even as my hips thrust
wildly against his, and my clawing fingers pull him
even closer to me. We move desperately against one another, Lucian grinding me into the counter while his fingers palmed my breasts and tugged cruelly at my nipples, "Anh! Ugh! Luciuughhee!"
"So good," Lucian growls making my body go haywire for him. I part my lips and spread my legs even wider, wanting to hear it again, "So good for me."
I whine into his mouth, giving him everything
as those words send wave after wave of pleasure
rippling down my spine. I wanted to be good, wanted to be good for him.
I didn’t know how long it lasted, only that it wasn’t long enough.
By the time we finally came up for air, my lungs burned and my head spun, a dizzy, breathless haze wrapping around me. My knees gave out, but Lucian’s arms were already there, catching me before I could fall.
His eyes searched mine, wide and frantic, the same eyes that had moments ago looked at me like I was the only thing in the world.
“Are you okay?” he asked, voice low and rough, like he couldn’t believe what just happened either. Like he hadn't just kissed the life out of me.
I nodded, still trying to catch my breath. “I’m fine,” I whispered, though fine was the last thing I felt. My heart was racing, my skin tingling where his hands still rested on me. “You should go. You’ll be late.”
He frowned, shaking his head stubbornly. “No. Not until I’m sure you’re okay.”
That worried look of his made it worse, made me want to pull him back in, to drown in the warmth of him all over again. I forced a shaky laugh, cheeks burning. “I promise, Lucian. I’m fine. Really.”
He hesitated, still reluctant to let go, until I smiled up at him and added softly, “I’m fine, Lucie.”
That earned me a small, reluctant grin, the tension in his shoulders easing. “Okay then,” he murmured, his gaze lingering a moment longer before he finally turned toward his closet.
As soon as his back was turned, I exhaled the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.
Phew. What was this man doing to me?