She didn’t notice me at first, completely lost in her own world as she sang softly to herself while tying a denim button-down shirt together at her waist.
Her dark hair was piled messily on top of her head—the first time I had seen it up—and something about it changed her features in an intriguing way. But I would always prefer her hair down. It made it easier to grab, and God knew I liked the way she moaned when I did.
My gaze traveled down, my blood heating as I took her in.
Briar was adorable, alluring, and sexy all at once. I doubted many girls could achieve that.
She looked like a ballerina in the full skirt that sat high on her waist and fell to her knees.
Pure. Innocent. Untouchable.
Damn if that didn’t make me want to touch and tease her until she was begging for more again. Until she was shattering beneath me.
Then the look in her eyes from that morning flashed through my mind, making my hands curl into fists. I forced away the urge to grab her and take her back to bed, knowing that wasn’t what she needed. Knowing it wouldn’t do anything to help make up for the first three weeks.
She finally noticed me when she was a couple feet from me, surprise filling her eyes at finding me there. “You’re here.”
I knew we had a while before she would stop expecting me to disappear, or stop expecting me to try to give her lessons. But I had no intention of going anywhere, and I would never attempt to give her another lesson. And though I had a dozen things I needed to do for work, they could wait.
“I thought you would want to eat breakfast with me.”
Her mouth curved up into a hesitant smile. “Okay.”
I held my hand out to her and bit back a satisfied grin when she took it to walk with me. “You look beautiful.”
She glanced up at me with a startled gaze before quickly dropping her head to stare at the floor. But the blush that stained her cheeks at my comment didn’t match the pain I’d seen in her eyes.
I knew what had put that pain there.
Or rather, who.
I knew, and I kept telling myself not to ask her. But I hadn’t been able to handle the broken expression in her green eyes during the first three weeks. After last night? I was walking that dangerous line, ready to fall to my knees and offer her anything as long as it took that hurt from her eyes.
“Are you going to tell me?” I asked when I sat in the corner of one of the large couches that faced the lake.
She gave me a confused look as she sat next to me, but didn’t respond.
“What’s on your mind?” I prompted.
“Oh.” That blush was back and darker than before. “You don’t want to know.”
No, I don’t. Because I hate the man you’re thinking about even though I know I can’t keep you.
“Blackbird,” I said, my voice rough as I fought with myself over what I knew she needed and what I couldn’t stand to hear. “Out with it.”
With a resigned sigh, she repositioned herself on the couch so she was facing me but would only stare at my chest. “I have questions . . . I mean, I wanted to ask you something. Or tell you something, I guess.” She looked up at me from under her lashes and waited for me to nod. “I was wondering because of last night—because of what you told me,” she added quickly, “if I could speak freely with you?”
I laughed edgily. “Don’t you already? How many times have you told me that you hate me?”
“Uh, no, not that. Now that I know that you might . . . that you might care about me. Maybe,” she whispered, and looked to me for confirmation.
Words I had learned during training flashed to mind but I pushed them back and, after a few beats, nodded.
She let out a shaky exhale and seemed to think of how to word her next statement for a while before finally saying it on a rush. “I don’t want to kiss you. I don’t want to do anything with you. Last night—last night was . . .” Her anxious stare flashed to mine, her eyes tightening as if she was in physical pain.
I refused to admit that I understood and felt her pain. I refused to acknowledge that I was no longer seeing Briar’s face as her words brought to life something that wouldn’t stay buried.
As I sat there with my arms folded across my chest, clenching my jaw shut and trying to force that mask of indifference, I knew I couldn’t keep lying to myself; I couldn’t keep saying this wasn’t the same.
Because I now struggled to find anything in this situation that was different.
“Well, I don’t know what it was,” she finally continued, her jaw trembling as she did. “But last night shouldn’t have happened. I don’t know if it was because there was still something lingering in my mind from when William came here, or if it was that mixed with you telling me everything you did last night. But for all I know, you lied to me last night to make me think I could trust you so I would progress, or whatever you and William keep saying I need to do.”
My brow dropped low over my eyes. My tone was grave when I asked, “You think I lied to you?”
The pain in her eyes gave way to something else, something I couldn’t understand, but her shoulders sagged as her eyes darted quickly back and forth between mine. “No,” she admitted, her voice nothing more than a breath. “No . . . I don’t know. I don’t know what to believe right now—I can’t even trust my own mind, Lucas.”
My fingers twitched against my sides when that name poured from her mouth. William had to have said it in front of her, but watching those lips twist around my name, I didn’t fault him for it.
She tucked her feet underneath her so they disappeared under her skirt, and nervously brushed back pieces of hair that had fallen in her face. When she spoke again, she wouldn’t look up at me.
“Despite what happened last night, I’m engaged, and I love—”
“Briar,” I growled in warning.
“You have the wrong girl,” she whispered as if I hadn’t said anything. “Why can’t you see that?”
“I have the wrong girl for my life, not for me.” The words were out before I could begin to filter myself. This girl would be the death of me. I had no doubt of that.
She shook her head. “I will never be okay with your life, Lucas. I will never be okay with multiple women in this house vying for your attention and your love that you won’t give because you’re incapable of feeling it—especially when all I want is to go home and marry Kyle.”
I forced myself not to react to the pain of her last statement—to the fear that rose in me from old memories. But beyond the pain and my memories was a fear of something so much greater: William. He’d seen Briar’s attempt to contact Kyle. It was crucial he never heard about her life in Atlanta again.
Because the women sold into this world usually came from places they didn’t want to get back to. I didn’t want to think about what William would do if he found out Briar was different. He was a dangerous man, and untouchable. And he’d already broken so many rules . . .
“Don’t say that name in this house again, do you understand?”
She clenched her jaw and after a few seconds nodded stiffly. “As long as you understand that you will never make me into one of your mindless whores.”
“Watch yourself,” I warned. I studied her worried expression as seconds passed in silence. “Briar, I can’t make you believe anything you don’t want to, especially after how you came to be here, but last night wasn’t a way for me to make you progress faster. Admitting any of those things to you is no different than putting a gun in William’s hand, and pointing it at my forehead. I . . .” I shook my head as I searched for the right words. Looking up, I said, “I won’t promise I’ll never touch you or kiss you, but I promise I won’t touch you again until you’re ready.”
“But I’ll never be ready.”
I didn’t tell her that I disagreed. I just echoed, “Until you’re ready.”
More minutes passed, and with each one her body sagged more and more. As if I was breaking her without even trying.
“I want to ask you something I have before, but I want you to answer as Lucas . . . not the devil.” When I only raised an eyebrow, she stressed, “The Lucas who breaks rules for me.”
“Ask your question, Blackbird.”
Her chest hitched and her eyes watered, but she held the tears back. “Will I ever go home?”
A dozen thoughts begged to be voiced. A dozen thoughts haunted me. One louder than the rest: It might just kill me when you do.
Despite my thoughts, I forced my head to shake slowly, and I watched as agony crossed her face before she could hide it.
“You are home.”
Her jaw was set in determination, but her voice shook. “You made a mistake buying me.”
I nodded—hurt flashed through her eyes at my silent answer. I moved closer to her so I could pull her into my arms, holding in my relieved sigh when she came willingly.
Cradling her face in my hands like she was fragile and irreplaceable, I dipped my head close so I could hold her watery stare. “Buying you was the best decision I ever made in my life. It would only ever be a mistake if anyone learned how much you are beginning to mean to me and took you from me. I would unleash hell on earth if I lost you now, Blackbird.”
Chapter 22
Simple Kisses
Briar
My mouth pulled into a frown weeks later as I crumbled bacon over the chicken carbonara. One of the only precious memories I had of my parents from when I was little danced through my mind, tugging at my heart and putting pressure on my chest.
“We’re gonna need more bacon than that.”
“No, sir,” Mom chastised and swatted at Dad when he went looking through the fridge for the package of bacon. “You shouldn’t be getting any at all. You heard the doctor, you need to watch your cholesterol.”
“Ah. What do doctors know? If it’s my time to go, then I’ll be ready . . . with bacon in my stomach.”
I giggled between my parents while I crumbled the crispy bacon, letting it sprinkle over the bowls of linguine as they continued their playful bickering.
It was the only time I could remember cooking with them. Actually, it was the only time I remembered either of them cooking at all—usually my nanny was the one who’d cooked in our house.
She was the one who had done everything: cooked, cleaned, raised me, taught me how to face my fears . . . She’d been everything my mother didn’t know how to be, until one day she wasn’t. Until my mother decided she wasn’t good for me and sent her away with enough money to ensure that my nanny wouldn’t ever contact me again.
That was the day I learned how disgusting money—and people with it—could truly be.
I was so lost in my thoughts I didn’t hear him climb the stairs. I was so wrapped up in the ache spreading through my chest I didn’t realize he was even in the kitchen with me until he placed a simple kiss on the side of my neck and moved to lean against the counter so he was facing me.
“Smells incredible,” Lucas murmured appreciatively.
My cheeks warmed and my eyes met his briefly before I focused on the food again. Every inch of my body was still tingling from that kiss, and a part of me was already eagerly anticipating the next.
A small part.
Because at the moment I was just trying not to cry over a bowl of spaghetti.
“Blackbird.” His voice was soft and unsure, but somehow still demanding.
I glanced up again and found dark eyes searching my face.
“What’s wrong? Briar, what’s wrong?” he repeated when I didn’t respond.
I lifted one shoulder and grabbed for a towel to wipe my hands, but I hadn’t finished before Lucas pulled me against him. One hand cradled my neck, his thumb brushed against my jaw and tilted my head back so he could study me more intently.
“Talk to—”
“My parents.” The words were barely a whisper, but they stopped Lucas’s as if I’d screamed them.
He stilled against me for a few beats before his chest moved exaggeratedly. When he spoke again, his tone was dark, yet cautious. Always Lucas. Always the devil. “What about them?”
I let my eyes drift to the counter for a second. “I made this one time with them when I was little. It made me realize I only have a few good memories with them. And I just . . .” I didn’t try to continue, and I didn’t need to say anything more, judging by the way Lucas’s body relaxed for the briefest second before he tightened his arm around me.
“We can eat something else.”
“No,” I said, then laughed softly. “Just sad when you realize you don’t miss your parents at all.”
Lucas hesitated for a moment, then pressed his lips to the top of my head, and lingered there when he spoke. “Go sit down, I’ll bring the food to you.”
I was so caught up in his warmth and understanding I didn’t realize it was the first time he’d let me speak about any part of my life in Atlanta without immediately trying to put an end to it.
I exhaled shakily when he released me and allowed myself one more look into his eyes, then walked out of the kitchen before I could do something like fall back into his arms.
As he’d promised me a few weeks ago, he hadn’t attempted anything sexual. The first time he’d kissed my forehead after that conversation, it’d taken a second too long to realize what he’d done and for me to jerk away from the touch.
Before I could reprimand him, he’d smiled sadly and brushed his thumb across my mouth as he said, “I will not kiss you, Briar.”
I just hadn’t realized during that first conversation that that vow had only included my lips. But more and more often recently I found myself craving those little kisses from him, getting a rush when I finally received them.
And as Lucas handed me a bowl of food and sat down next to me on one of the couches in the sitting room, pulling my feet onto his lap, I realized it wasn’t just the kisses and random touches I craved.
It was him.
It was the routine we had gotten into. It was his words and the side of him I could see struggling so hard to break free.
It was odd knowing he was the reason behind my heartache, while also being the cure. Even more so knowing he was keeping me from life back home, and yet as time passed, if given the chance . . . I wasn’t sure I would leave.
Chapter 23
Day 55 with Briar
Lucas
Some might think my life was dangerous. The things I dealt with on a day-to-day, the people I encountered . . .
I guess, in a way, it was.
But I had never been in as much danger as I was in Briar’s presence.
Fear, wariness, adrenaline. All that I should’ve felt on a daily basis in this life, and nothing I ever had until I first saw that girl.
Every moment with her in my arms, with her full lips so close to mine, teasing and begging me for something I knew she wasn’t ready for yet, and with that tempting body curled against mine, that danger grew.
Solidified.
Became a living thing inside me.
As I thought about leaving her to return to work for the first time in the almost two months I’d had her, I realized I was terrified. Not because I worried what would happen when I was gone, but because I wanted more. More hours in the day with her. More of the light that now burst from her. More of her infectious smile. Just more.
But more when I’d already broken so many rules was like playing Russian roulette by myself.
Chapter 24
Home
Briar
I woke to the feel of his lips against the back of my neck and his fingers intertwining with mine. A sound between a hum and a purr moved up my throat.
“Wake up, Blackbird.”
My heavy eyelids slowly blinked open, and I stretched between Lucas and the plush carpet as I tried to orient myself.
I curled my fingers against his, locking our hands against the carpet, and pressed my face against his tan arm as my eyes drifted to the window.
The sun was sett
ing. I was in my favorite part of my level of the house. I had been singing and it had been early afternoon . . . I must have fallen asleep.
I twisted around to look up at Lucas’s smirk.
“Good morning.”
“You’re home.”
His grin widened into a brilliant smile, and he dipped his head to kiss the top of mine. “I’ve been home, but I stayed downstairs to get more work done.”
I held back my disappointment that he hadn’t woken me up earlier. “Do you want me to make dinner, or did you already eat?”
Lucas’s face fell, and he hesitated for a moment. “There’s something we’ve been putting off, and William called me out during a lunch meeting in front of some other men today.”
My stomach dropped at the mention of his twisted mentor. “What is it?”
“Since he’s my mentor, I need to take each girl to visit him once I think she’s ready. Really, it should’ve happened within a week from you moving out of the starter room, but I haven’t wanted you near him.”
I pushed the thought of Lucas having other girls out of my mind. I knew it would happen—but it might destroy me when it did. “And what happens in the visit?”
“Nothing,” he assured me quickly. “It is only a visit for the mentor to make sure I’m not breaking any rules, and that you’re progressing the way you should. What he did that day with you never should have happened and never will again.”
“Not breaking any rules . . .” I mused. “So how do we act? What do I do?”
He smiled warmly. “I’ll go over everything on the way, but I need you to get ready. We need to leave soon.”
My eyes widened when his words finally registered, when everything finally clicked. “Wait . . . leave. We’re leaving the house?”
“That’s usually what happens when you go visit someone,” he said dryly, but winked at me.
“Lucas, I haven’t been outside in months.” I couldn’t contain the smile that spread across my face, and I hurried to scramble out from underneath him. I had only run a few feet toward my room before I turned back around and launched myself at him.