Chapter 24

Something has shifted in Lux.Just a slight change that might be imperceptible to anyone else, but there's something in her eyes I can't quite reconcile.

She's always been guarded around me, and I've worked hard in the last couple of weeks to tear down the walls she's built up around herself, but this is something else. She seems suspicious.

Suspicious of what, I don't know. There's no way she could know the truth. No, it must be something else causing that glint of uncertainty in her eyes. Maybe that talk on the beach this morning brought up old feelings, and now she's being more cautious.

Her eyes drop to my erection as it strains painfully against my jeans. I should order her down onto her knees, so she can suck me off. The image of her looking up at me, pleading, as I slide my cock into her mouth, floods my mind.

I know she'd do it, too. She wants it. I can see it in her eyes. Behind all the suspicion and doubt, there's a deep, intrinsic need for her to be owned by me. I'm as certain about that as I am about my next breath.

She needs me. She needs this.

Taking a step back, I run my hand through my hair. It's hard stepping away from her, but I have to. If I'm going to earn her trust, I can't jump at every opportunity to fuck her. Girls don't like every interaction being sex-related, not that I really give a fuck, but I've heard enough chicks complain about it.

Scratch that. I do give a fuck when it involves Lux.

She's still pressed against the wall as she rights herself, zipping her jeans back up. She's apprehensive, her gaze meeting mine briefly before darting away. She looks so vulnerable right now, and I curl my hands into fists at my sides and resist the urge to reach out and touch her.

Fuck, my cock is damn hard it's painful.

What I really need is an ice bath. Even a cold shower isn't going to cut it at this point.

Feel nothing.

Yeah, easier said than done when the object of my torment is standing in front of me, eyes wide, cheeks flushed, curves on full display, looking like a goddamn goddess.

I clear my throat, and take a step away from her. "Hungry? I'm meeting the guys down at the pier to grab something to eat."

She takes a second to answer, and I can practically see the wheels working in that beautiful brain of hers. Finally, she nods. "Yeah, okay."

We head out to my car, and I hold the passenger-side door open for her, waiting for her to slide in before shutting it behind her, then walking around to the driver's side. When I get in, she's laughing to herself.

"What?" I ask. "What's so funny?"

She shakes her head. "You always hold the door open for me." She looks over at me. "I didn't think guys still did that."

I smirk. "I might be a monster," I say, echoing her words from earlier this morning. "But I'm a civilized monster."

"A civilized monster," she repeats. "This place is so strange. Absolutely nothing here is what you would expect it to be."

"Thanks, I guess?" I start up the engine and peel out of the driveway. "So what's wrong?"

There's a long pause before she asks, "What do you mean?"

"There's something you're not telling me," I say. Best to just confront it, right? "Is it about this morning?"

She clears her throat and glances out the window, avoiding my gaze. That's how I know I've struck gold. Avoidance. No one ever wants to talk about difficult things. It's usually easier to just pretend like that difficult thing doesn't exist. I should know. I've become an expert at avoiding shit.

But, here, with Lux, I can't. There's no choice but to confront whatever it is head on, and deal with it.

We're stopped at a red light when I reach over and brush my thumb down her cheek. "Hey, you can tell me."

I see her swallow, then she glances at me, and when she does, there are tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm just…afraid something bad has happened to Bree. Have any of the guys mentioned her? Like, seeing her, or talking to her?"

Her tone sounds suspicious, like she thinks one of the Sacred Sons is involved with her friend's disappearance. "You think one of the Sons had something to do with her leaving?" I ask, eyes narrowed.

"Yes," she says, then shakes her head. "I mean, no. Maybe. I don't know." She pushes out a breath. "I just wonder if they know anything, that's all."

"If they did, don't you think they would have said something by now?"

She rubs her eyes, probably to mask the fact that she's on the verge of tears. "Yeah, you're right. It's stupid."

"Listen, I didn't want to tell you this, but I asked a private investigator to look into her disappearance, and he didn't find anything. Nothing. All her socials have gone cold, and she hasn't made any attempt to use her credit cards."

Lux perks up, twisting in the seat to face me. Her seatbelt strains against her body, but she doesn't seem to notice. "See! I'm not crazy. If she just ran away, she'd need money, right?"

I pull into the parking lot at the mouth of the pier, then shut the engine off and turn to face her. "Not necessarily, Lux. If the guy she's with has money, then she wouldn't need to touch her own account, would she?"

She physically deflates, and all that excitement from fifteen seconds ago fades. "Yeah, I guess."

"So where'd you go today?" I ask, changing the subject. I already know the answer, but I want to see if she'll tell me.

Straightening in her seat, she stares out of the windshield, into the near-empty parking lot. "I went to the library."

So far, so good.

"You could have studied at the house," I reply. "I don't like you walking around campus on your own."

"The house is a zoo most days," she answers.

I shrug one shoulder. "So I'll kick people out."

The guys won't like that. They like having their chicks around. But if Lux wants quiet, then she gets quiet.

"No, don't do that. I also went to the library to research your family," she says with a sigh.

I blink. Okay. Maybe that's what all this newfound suspicion is about? I know she didn't discover anything truly incriminating, but she clearly discovered something.

I deliberately keep my tone even and unaffected. "And what'd you find? Anything interesting?"

"Yeah, see that's the thing," she says, turning to face me again. "I didn't find anything. And you'd think with a family as prominent as yours, something would pop up. But there was nothing, just a couple articles about your family's philanthropic work."

"We're not very interesting, I'm afraid."

"That's bullshit," she says under her breath, more to herself than to me.

She reaches over to open her door, but my hand flies out, and I grab her by the elbow, stopping her. "What do you mean by that? Why is it bullshit?"

I still get the feeling there's something she's not telling me.

"I've heard things, Roman, like the rumor that your half-brother is in jail now. Why is there no mention of that anywhere? Seems like that would be pretty big news around here."

The silence inside the car closes in around me, and all I can hear is my own heartbeat. She knows about my brother being in jail. Shock melts into anger, and I can't help but lash out. "Who fucking told you that?"

Her eyes narrow. "Does it matter? The better question is why isn't there any mention of it in the news or anything?"

I grip my steering wheel and squeeze until the plastic groans. "Is that something you would want out there, Lux? If it were your family?"

She doesn't answer that. Of course, she doesn't. "So, your parents just had the internet scrubbed, is that it?" When I don't answer, she shakes her head. "It just makes me wonder what else you could be hiding."

I glare at her, I can't help it. I'm pissed at the accusation in her tone, even though I know how ridiculous that is. "So what about you, Lux? Is every dark moment of your life on the internet? How about that little incident you told me about this morning, huh? Is there an article about it somewhere for fucking strangers to consume, and judge? Maybe they'll think you brought it on yourself?"

Darkness washed over her face, and I swear I can feel the hatred and anger radiating off her. "How dare you use my situation to make a point…" she spits.

I open my mouth to say something, but she's already out of the car, slamming the door shut behind her. I chase after her, catching up to her quickly, my longer legs eating up the growing distance between us. I reach out and grab her elbow, pulling her to a stop. As she whips around, all I see is a fist flying at my face. My head whips back and pain explodes in my jaw.

Goddamn.

Holding my jaw, I pull my hand back to check for blood. "What the fuck?" Grown-fucking-men haven't taken a shot at me like that, let alone a chick several inches shorter than me. She's got to be, what, five-six?

I expect her to storm off, but she doesn't. She's standing in front of me, pissed, and she looks ready to draw blood. Her face is flushed, her eyes wild with anger. "If you ever fucking mention that incident again, I swear to God, I'll castrate you with my teeth!"

She's screaming at the top of her lungs in the middle of the parking lot. Thank God we're alone. Not that I really give a fuck, but still.

"Lux," I say, walking toward her. Damn, my jaw hurts. I'm still amazed she landed that blow. "Take a breath. Calm down."

She takes a step back, looking very unhinged, but not crying, so that's a plus. "You know what you're not going to do," she says. "You're not going to tell me what to do."

I take another step toward her, holding my hand out, like I'm approaching a rabid coyote that's foaming at the mouth. "I shouldn't have said that," I say.

She allows me to get a little closer, so I continue to advance. "But my brother is very important to me, and you have to know, I'll protect him at all costs. Is that so hard to understand, Lux? I know you'd do the same for Bree. "

Mention of Bree seems to disarm her a little. Her shoulders relax, and she glances away. A few seconds pass in silence before she shakes her head, and sighs. "Let's just go find the guys. I'm starving."

I blink at the abrupt change in energy, but I'm guessing it's her way of deflecting, and it suits me not to talk about my family, so I go with it.

Nodding, I follow her up to the pier, thankful that this storm has passed…for the time being, at least. I've been given a brief reprieve, but if I know Lux, this shit isn't over.

Not by a long shot.