43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Mason

Once the night wound down, I took the chance to sneak off to the bathroom between Lucian and Cameron’s bedrooms—not because I had to pee, but because I was going to do something no one in the house would approve of. With the door locked, I grabbed my phone from the pocket of my PJs.

I understood why I shouldn’t talk to my dad, but with his assistant flooding my phone, I was getting worried. Dad was probably just trying to get my attention so he could tell me how disappointed he was… but deep down, I hoped for good news.

Since I got pregnant, I had been waiting for some magical moment when my dad realized he loved me in spite of the fact that I had grown into an adult. I had never stopped craving my father’s affection, the love I lost when my mom originally dragged us to America. From that moment on, nothing I did could ever make him proud.

Every forum I read said that grandchildren had this bizarre way of healing their grandparents, fixing problems that not even therapy could mend. Would Rosie’s birth finally bring us together?

Even if that never happened, I wanted to keep my dad close enough to prove I was a better parent than him.

I rubbed my stomach, causing Rosie to stir, as I dialed my dad’s number. He had a few different phones, but this one was just for close friends and family. He wanted to make sure it never got out to the public.

My brow furrowed as his voicemail filled the line. His assistant had called so many times, I assumed he’d pick up right away. Ignoring me wasn’t his style—James Albright would much rather scold his only child.

My phone stuck to my cheek as I pulled it away from my face. I scrunched my brow, silently performing the mental math required to figure out what time it was in Lyon. My dad didn’t normally go to sleep until six A.M, so he should still be awake. What could he be doing that would result in him not answering my call?

Maybe he got tired of me dodging his calls and just hopped on a plane. After all, I tagged Jade’s salon in a post, so he had a rough idea of where I was. If he was coming to America, that meant he cared enough to hunt me down. A smile my father didn’t deserve sprouted on my lips. The idea that my dad had possibly realized he loved me was a rush I couldn’t explain.

Today had been so perfect I couldn’t even fathom it belonged to me. After six years of literal hell on earth, my life was looking up. I tapped my fingers together as I formed a mental list of everything I had to do before my dad inevitably found me. I needed to get my nails filed and get my hair trimmed and—

“Mason, you’ve been in there fifteen minutes. What the fuck are you doing?” Lucian barked, the door handle shaking as he did.

His sudden appearance almost caused me to jump out of my skin.

“I’m almost done!” I squeaked.

The knob jiggled again. “Unless your water broke, there’s no reason for you to take fifteen minutes!”

I rushed to the sink, turned the water on, and washed my hands, using extra soap for good measure. The smell of teakwood tickled my nose, and just as I deemed my hands were clean enough, the door opened.

Lucian stood in the entryway, bobby pin in hand. He stared me down for a moment. I smiled at his reflection, and he returned the gesture. He shut the door behind him before strolling forward and pulling me against his body. His slender arms wrapped around me as he buried his face in my hair, kissing the top of my head as he inhaled.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about my dad. I was so excited that I barely registered Lucian’s actions.

“Did you have fun tonight?” he asked, resting his chin on my head.

Fun wasn’t the right word for it. I finally had a place where I felt like I belonged.

“I never want to leave.”

“And you’ll never have to,” he mumbled as he pulled away.

His left hand dropped to my stomach, and I stared at his barren ring finger.

Lucian desperately wanted to be married by twenty-three. Had that changed? Did he still want to get married? If he did…. Maybe if I was really good… Would he want to—?

My face reddened as I squeaked.

“What?” Lucian laughed, slowly shaking his head.

“N-nothing. She moved in a weird way.” That was all I could think of to hide my daydream.

He pressed his palm to my stomach just a little harder, slowly moving it up and down.

“I didn’t feel anything.”

“That’s because she’s on my spine?”

Lucian smirked and he let go of me before leaning forward and pressing his hands against the mirror.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say someone is nervous,” he taunted. “Tell me, kitten, what’s got your cheeks so flushed?”

He dropped one hand from the mirror and ran a thumb across my face. My breathing became frenzied as I leaned against the counter, needing space between us before my knees went too weak for me to stand.

“I’ve gotta say, I love this new shy side of you.” He chuckled. “You used to have no problem telling me to fuck off, and now all it takes is a little teasing to turn your cheeks rosy.”

“I’ll still tell you to fuck off.”

And I would... just, maybe not right now.

Tonight, I had been painfully reminded of how much I actually liked Lucian. I liked him so much that the idea of marrying him kept popping into my head when he was around... Which was crazy, considering we’d only been dating for approximately a month. But I chalked it up to my hormones.

And it didn’t help that Lucian was fucking hot .

He cupped my chin, squeezing my cheeks slightly as he turned my face from side to side. Then, he pulled my nose to his.

“Do it, then. Tell me to fuck off.”

My heart rattled as I contemplated it. But I had never responded well to being told what to do—not by Lucian, at least.

“Why would I do that?” I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck.

It was Lucian’s turn to blush.

“W-what are you doing?” he stammered as I leaned in, pulling him into the tightest hug I could manage.

“I like you.”

That was the best I could do, but I was proud of myself for telling Lucian that much. Being open with Sophia was one thing, but I couldn’t talk as freely about my feelings for him.

“Y-you what?”

“I. Like. You.” I repeated as I nuzzled into his chest.

Nervous laughter escaped Lucian as he peeled me off of himself, and I wondered if my giddy state had infected him.

Lucian worked at my PJ pants, dropping them to my ankles as he hoisted me onto the bathroom counter. The quartz was cold on my ass, causing me to squirm.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

He dropped to his knees, then parted my legs, filling the space between them with his face.

“I’m shutting you the hell up.”

“Why? I didn’t say anything; I—”

His tongue met my clit, and my body tensed, causing me to wrap my legs around his head. My fingers twined in Lucian’s hair as he flicked his tongue. I leaned back, the faucet of the sink pressing into my back as I tried to stay coherent. I didn’t want this to end here. I wanted sex and foreplay and—

The bathroom door squeaked open.

Lucian froze. My breathing stopped. The bathroom fell so silent that it would have made a library seem loud. The two of us made direct eye contact with Cameron, who stood in the doorway. His massive frame filled the space for just a moment before he ducked down to enter the room, slowly sealing the door behind him.

My legs twitched, protesting the abrupt end of Lucian’s cunnilingus. I knew Sophia was the main Dom, but I had no idea whether Lucian or Cameron was higher on the food chain.

Lucian’s throat bobbed as he swallowed.

“Either join us or fuck off,” he ordered, slowly reaching forward to brush my clit with his thumb. Under Lucian’s expert touch, my pleasure began to mount, trickling down to my toes as my heart stuttered.

Cameron lowered his chin as he focused on me. Something primal grew in his gaze with each passing second.

“I’m gonna have to ask you to stop what you’re doing.” Cameron spoke slowly, his chest rising with a breath as he finished his sentence.

Lucian continued to finger me, watching for Cameron’s reaction. It was sort of strange to have him absentmindedly fiddling with my lady parts, and equally impressive that he was still doing a decent job.

“And why would I do that?”

Cameron looked me over once more before stepping closer and kneeling to get on Lucian’s level.

“Because my baby girl deserves better than to be fingered in the bathroom.”