We have a lot of history here,” she said. “In the schoolyard. It’s where you kissed me for the first time, where you first told me you loved me… do you remember?” Her voice was high pitched and far away. He looked back at her. Her eyes were red, puffy and her pupils were dilated.“Are you… okay?” he raised an eyebrow.“I miss us. I know I pushed you away and did some things I’m not proud of. But it was all because I love you.”“Mia—”“Please let me finish,” she put a hand up. “No one is ever going to know you or love you the way I do. No one.Audrey is nothing and no one compared to me. I’m willing to forget everything that happened if you do. We can start over. Run away, just you and me.”“You’ve got to be kidding.”“Please,Lucien. I know you love me! I know you want to be with me!” she cried. Tears streamed down her face. “You want me!”“I tried to be as clear as I could,Mia. I do not want to be with you. I do not want anything to do with you anymore. Ever.”“Then why are you here?”
“I…” her words were stuck in her throat. “I want to trust you. I do. But your track record doesn’t help.”“I’m not that man anymore, Audrey.”He yearned to reach out for her hand, but he wasn’t allowed to touch anyone, and the guard was watching like a hawk.“Prove it. I’ve had enough of your words. You need to show me. I’ve changed to!”The moment hung between them, and it was everything Lucien could do to keep from grabbing her and kissing her until she begged for air.“I will prove it. You’ll see. But you don’t need to worry about this. At least not yet.”“Fine,” she softened a little. Audrey had come over with the intent to read him the riot act. Her anger burned in her body, a raging fire that smoldered in her soul. The fire soon changed from rage to worry as she walked in saw Lucien.He was a far cry from the sleek, sophisticated man she knew. His skin lacked its signature glow, and his gorgeous face was hidden beneath a scraggly beard. She wouldn’t have recognized him if not for
While happy to see her friend, she was still upset for being shut out. Becca was never one to lie though. Before getting too mad, Audrey’s figured she should let her explain what was going on. Then she could decide if she wanted to stay angry at her friend.“Oh boy,” Becca sighed. “Okay. So you two know my dad is a building contractor. It’s not a big business, but he does all right.” They nodded. “Well, he had a pretty slow month and started having money issues. That’s when I first sort of disappeared. I went back home to help.”“Back in Darlington?” Audrey clarified.“Yeah.”“We were still in contact at that point,” Tracy added. “We lost touch not long after though. You went radio silent.”“Like, I said. Things got out of hand. The business finally went bankrupt. It was a good thing I had already graduated or else I would have had to drop out. But because of everything going on, I had to quit my own job. I was actually going to ask you guys for help. But then I found out what the rea
I’ll ask Lucien about it. It’s his company, right?”“That’s the problem,” she huffed. “After everything that happened, I went through all the paperwork and saw that it didn’t say ‘Reynolds Industries’ on it anywhere.”“How is that possible?” Audrey asked.“I asked Dad about it. He told me that the project manager explained that Reynolds Industries had handed the building over to one its subsidiaries. Dad had the good sense to question it at first, but after he saw those dollar signs, all good sense flew out the window.”“That’s suspicious,” Audrey said.“It gets worse. I contacted Reynolds Industries to confirm all of this. The subsidiary is a company called RS Holdings. It was under the Reynolds Industries umbrella but had been operating alone for years.”“Like they broke away?”“More like Reynolds Industries pushed them away. The woman I spoke to wouldn’t say much. But she told me that RS Holdings was a stand-alone company now.”“This is getting shadier and shadier by the second,” T
Lucien knew he didn’t imagine the way Audrey’s eyes glazed over when she looked at him. He knew that look. He’d seen it many times when his body hovered over hers.‘She’s really going to make me fight for this,’he realized. It was evident that she was struggling to keep her desires at bay.“Let me put on something more suitable for the public eye,” Lucien smirked.“Uh huh,” Audrey managed. “I’ll wait in the foyer.”“Sure.”Audrey rushed out. The tension in that room had been getting thicker and thicker.“Ugh,” she said to herself. “Why does he have to be so hot?”Before changing, Lucien decided he needed to make a quick phone call. If all the things going on were connected, he would need to ensure that he was around to keep Audrey safe. At least until things had been figured out.“Hello, Mr. Reynolds,” his assistant answered. “It’s great to hear from you. I’m glad you’re out.”“I’m glad to be out too,Tiffany. Listen, I need a favor.”“Yes, sir.”“Go ahead and submit for my paternity l
“Well,” he smirked to himself. “I won’t be going to work. No need to wear a suit every day.” It was a diabolical plan. But if he was ever going to be with Audrey again, he had to start somewhere. He stepped into the shower and enjoyed the feeling of the water cascading around him. It ran all over his body, and he couldn’t help but think it should be Audrey’s hands all over him instead. He imagined her in the shower with him, her nails dragging down his back as he pressed his body into hers.“I don’t know how much longer I can hold out. God, I want her so bad,” he groaned. “I’ve got to get a hold of myself.” He switched the water from hot to cold, to keep himself from getting to worked up.Something told him Audrey wouldn’t appreciate him greeting her with a full-blown erection. Or maybe she would… but let’s not take that chance.After calming down, he got dressed in another pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.As he was only going across the hall to see Audrey and his baby, it seemed lik
“Come on, baby,” he said to Bella.”Let’s go to bed.”After Bella was tucked in and fast asleep,Lucien went over to settle himself on the couch. Audrey was still in the living room, stunned by what had just transpired.“Are you okay?”“Yeah,” she answered. “I guess when you said that… I try really hard not to think about…before.” She hung her head.“It’s all I ever think about.”“What?” Her head snapped up.“The second I walked away that day, all I wanted to do was rip that door down and tell you I wasn’t leaving.”“I…,” she was dazed by his confession. His honey eyes burned and looked like molten gold with the intensity of his stare. It held her in place, reminding her of the power those eyes alone could wield over her. “Sometimes I wish you had,” she whispered.Lucien crossed the room in a flash and stood in front of her. Electric currents seemed to pass between them. He walked towards her, but Audrey backed away. Her mind screamed at her. No! Tell him to go away! Or go to your room
Get off!” Lucien shoved him away. Damian’s words stung him a little. But there was no way he’d ever let that show. “I need you to stay with Bella while I go look for her. She trusts you.”“How do I know you aren’t lying? How do I know you haven’t hurt her and are just trying to cover your tracks? You better not have laid a hand on her.”“I haven’t touched her… in a way she didn’t like,” Lucien smirked. He couldn’t resist jabbing Damian with that. She is mine.“You fucking…”“We don’t have time for this! Every second you spend arguing with me is a second, she could be in danger. Stay with Bella. There are bottles in the fridge, and Minnie’s instructions on how to heat them are on the counter. I have to go.”Lucien grabbed his keys and phone and ran out. Adrenaline pumped throughout his body, setting every nerve in his body on fire. He started driving towards his uncle’s home. If he sped, he could make it there in about 45 minutes. The streets were quiet and empty, and Lucien’s car was a