Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 157308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 787(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 787(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
“I do understand.” He held me tight. “I understand so much more than you think, Luna.” Emotion clouded his pools. “It’s wrong to laugh, be happy, and go on with your life like nothing happened. It’s like you betrayed them once when you weren’t there for them, and you betray them again when you forget the pain of losing them for a single second.
“I understand, Luna,” he said forcefully. “Beside all the jokes, the flirting, and kissing you because you looked so sad and beautiful, I couldn’t stop myself.”
“Lucien,” I whispered.
He caressed my cheek. “Besides that, I don’t expect anything from you that you aren’t ready to give. Don’t hold back or run away because you’re afraid of what’ll happen if you get too close. Nothing will happen, Luna. Tell me what it is you want me to be for you and that’s what I’ll be until you say otherwise. I won’t push. I won’t ask. After we leave here, I’ll give you the platonic, friendly relationship you want until you’ve forgiven yourself... because Winter’s already forgiven you."
I swallowed through needles, starting to say something and giving up too many times. In the end, what I said was, “After?”
“After.” Lucien spun me. Red and black whirled and then there was Lucien—his pools clear, his smile soft. “In this place, there’s no judging or status. No rules, no games, no Royals, and no expectations. Once you step through those doors, you stop hiding and give into every indulgence. Nothing that happens in here passes through those doors, so if you want, Lady Luna, indulge.”
It took a minute for his meaning to sink all the way in, then I caught on fire. Or at least that’s what it felt like as I watched all the couples indulging and pictured me and Lucien on a couch next to them.
Could he be telling the truth? One morning giving into my wants, wishes, and fantasies, and then we return to Regalia U as though nothing happened. No pressure to give more. No guilt at pursuing the life my sister would never have.
How could anything end as cleanly as stepping out of a bar? It wasn’t that simple, it couldn’t be. We couldn’t have a great love, but we could have a great friendship. Giving into forbidden feelings in darkened underground clubs would change everything.
“Can we dance?” I asked softly.
Lucien circled my waist. We fit together like puzzle pieces—my arm around his neck and his face buried in mine. We moved in time to the tune, stepping as the other stepped, our hips connected in symmetry. My dancing experience was limited to none, but there with Lucien, it all came easy. Our bodies were meant to move in sync.
My pulse raced beneath his lips. Lucien didn’t need to hunt his prey. They fell willingly on their knees, offering all of them in exchange for whatever sweet pain their time with him would bring.
“Can you kiss me?” I whispered.
Lucien licked my pulsing vein and pressed a kiss on my goose bumps. He burned a trail up my neck, along my jaw, and on the corner of my mouth—teasing the moment to the point of agony. Turning my head, I stole what was mine.
Our mouths moved hungrily, tasting each other’s moans. Lucien didn’t ask for entrance. He broke vampiric rule, slipping inside and tangling my tongue in a dance closer and more sensual than what was happening outside—only by a margin.
My thigh pressed between his legs, feeling him harden against me. Nipples rubbing on the fabric, my chest flattened against him, our hearts beating a wild beat on the other. His arm held me safe as he dipped me, kissing me thoroughly, completely, and pouring every ounce of the emotion we denied ourselves.
“Lucien,” I breathed. “Can you make me feel... something new?”
He didn’t ask what I meant.
Straightening, he grasped my hips, wining them down his thigh and up—the pressure in my core building to a fever pitch. He draped my leg over his arm, dipping me low. My head fell back, exposing my throat to his hot, biting kisses.
Beats of sweat prickled my heated skin—both for the people around us and Lucien, Lucien, Lucien. He thrummed in my veins, becoming a part of me as his hand slipped under my dress.
Lucien raised me up, our gaze locked. My leg slid down and wrapped around his waist. A pained gasp hissed between my teeth as he pressed between my folds.
“Relax, my Luna.” His words were warmth on my ear. “You’re safe with me. I’d never hurt you.”
I melted against him, sinking down and driving him deeper. A ripple of pleasure contracted my muscles. I jerked, crying out, “Oooh.”
“Just wait.” He kissed me. “It gets better.”
Lucien started moving, striking that spot we discovered over, and over, and over again. His thumb rolled over my middle and I moaned so loud, the music didn’t hide a thing.