Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Elaine

When Lucian’s car pulled up in the driveway, I was still outside with a trowel in the flower bed. My heart leaped as I realized just what the hell I’d done by staying in this place and risking my life every second I was around him, but it was too late.

My decision had already been made.

The sun was still high in the sky, the afternoon barely half done when he’d parked up in the garage and was heading to the front door with his keys in his hand. I could have hidden in the bushes and pretended I’d already run away from him, but I didn’t.

“Over here, honey!” I waved my trowel in the air.

The monster stopped and stared, fixing me in his piercing eyes as he stomped in my direction. I carried on digging the soil and pulling the weeds out, like it wasn’t the most insane decision I’d ever made and I wasn’t kidnapped in a hole of a place belonging to my archenemy.

“What the hell are you doing? Are you out of your fucking mind?”

His tone was blunt, but it wasn’t aggressive. His eyes were wild but not full of hate as he stared down at me.

I shrugged. “Does that surprise you?”

He couldn’t hold back a smirk. “You’re doing alright on that. I would’ve expected a lot more wallowing and begging on the coke front.”

Yeah, I would too. I’d surprised myself there. I was firmly on the same page as him on expecting the wallowing and begging for lines of powder. That and bottles of fizz.

Lucian tossed his keys in his hand as he scoped out the pile of weeds I’d been digging up. I did a silly little bow from my knees and waved the trowel in the air like some kind of superstar as I spoke again.

“Yes, I know, I know. It seems I am quite the capable gardener, doesn’t it? Despite me not being a success with slicing salami.”

He tried to scowl. “There’s you with that sassy mouth again. You should be a more convincing kidnap victim, you know. Maybe then I’d take pity on you and let you go.”

I found my bitchy tone at that. “Screw you and your pity. I’ll never bathe in pity, no matter how rough it gets. I’m no pet for anyone. Not outside of the bedroom anyway.”

We were both staring at each other, and the Morelli-Constantine hate should have been bristling as strongly as ever. He should have been dragging me inside and telling me I’d missed my escape chances and more fool me, and I should be cursing myself for ever considering staying in this damn place, but we weren’t doing any of it, just damn well staring.

“I left the door unlocked, I’m guessing?” he asked me. “That’s what happens when you sneak into my bed overnight and fuck my alarm over. Maybe you should try it more often.”

“I didn’t fuck your alarm over. You were sleeping so deep you didn’t get up in time.”

“Regardless. I rushed out and left the door unlocked, did I?”

I shrugged like it was no big deal. “I noticed it on my way to get some breakfast. I’ve had plenty of time to get the hell away from here.”

“Yes,” he said. “You have. So why didn’t you?”

I didn’t really have an answer for that. Not one that made sense. I couldn’t tell him that the thought of leaving him and this place gave me a sick pang in my stomach and nothing but a sense of dread at walking away. I could hardly say that I’d stayed wrapped up in his bed covers for hours after he’d gone this morning, just to smell him. I couldn’t admit that I’d fantasized about making this place into a dream home that I could dance around for the rest of my life.

“Really, Elaine,” he pushed. “Why didn’t you run?”

We stared at each other some more, and I couldn’t fight the flutters in my belly. Something was happening between us…even under the hate and the craziness and the utter carnage in our world, something was happening…

“I don’t know,” I lied, then realized I had a question of my own. “Why are you back so soon? You can’t have been in the city more than a couple of hours.”

“You’re asking for it, you know that?”

“I’m asking you to fuck me, you know that? Even if it’s in the grass here, just get your cock out and fuck me, please.”

We stared again, and my mind was churning, thinking. Why the hell was Lucian Morelli in a garden in the middle of nowhere while his empire was moving at full speed in the city? It didn’t make any sense. None of this made any sense in the goddamn slightest.

“You are crazy, Elaine. You could have been back anywhere else in Bishop’s Landing by now. You could have had me imprisoned. It would have been my mistake for leaving the fucking door unlocked.”

“Could have been, but I’m not,” I said. “I guess I really am crazy, aren’t I? Or maybe you left it open on purpose. Maybe this was a test. Am I passing?”

Lucian Morelli grabbed me up from my knees and slammed me into the wall at the side of his crappy house. I thought he would hurt me, finally…

I thought he would tear me apart, this time for good…

But he didn’t. Oh fuck, he didn’t.

Lucian Morelli slammed me into the wall at the side of his crappy house and kissed me like he meant it. He kissed me until I moaned into his mouth and kissed him back.