King of the Unsightly (Tempting Trickery #1)

Good Fellow

I released my breath as my heart flailed violently against my chest.

Lucien stood there with his hands shoved into his jean pockets.

He wasn’t wearing his usual clothes—not his grimy trucker hat to cover his blond waves and not the black joggers I never caught him dead without.

Instead, Lucien wore a gray collared shirt, and it hugged his muscular back and arms, purposely flaunting the physique he cultivated from countless hours spent at the gym.

Lucien pinched his lips into a grimace as he studied Kaschel by my side.

The dark shadow cast over his face gave him a calculating and vicious appearance. A stark difference from the expression he always greeted me with; I almost succumbed to his darkness.

His gold-speckled eyes shifted away from Kaschel and pointed all their hostility toward me. It was like he lodged a knife into my very existence with a mere glance.

My vision tunneled in as Lucien stalked closer. Each step—predatorial—sent shivers down my spine as my breathing came out in sharp and unstable spurts.

Lucien’s footfalls echoed off the cave walls, and my concentration faded.

My gaze flickered to Kaschel, but he froze in place with a deadpan look.

Had time stopped for Lucien and me? But it wasn’t really him. It couldn’t be him .

I blinked, and we were back in his apartment.

My temple throbbed, and I winced in agony as it thundered against my skull—until the pain blinded me.

A chill in the air caressed my skin, and I quivered.

I rubbed my pulsing temple harder, trying to recollect what I was doing before this, but a heavy fog funneled into my mind, and I couldn’t for the life of me remember why I was at Lucien’s house.

What was I doing here again?

I snapped back to it, and Lucien towered over me—pinning me against his sofa. “Addy, are you okay?” he asked in a hushed tone like he would shatter me if he spoke half an octave higher.

I lifted my head and stared back at him. I clenched my chest from an intense throb, gasping for air. My body was drowning, and my lungs filled up with water each time I tried to recall the previous day.

God, why did my chest hurt so much, and why did I feel so devastated as Lucien watched me with his honey-colored eyes and pouty lips?

I rubbed my temples again and memories flashed in my mind. Of Gren. Running for my life. Hades Cliff.

I cleared my throat and wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. “Wow. How much did I drink last night?” I let out a shaky laugh—a little unnerved by his proximity. “Where’s Lynne? Did you just get off work?” I scooted more onto the couch cushions hoping they would gobble me whole and save me from his chaotic temperament.

Lucien’s silence ate away at me. He was never quiet unless I had done something seriously stupid—which was entirely possible since I couldn’t remember a damn thing.

Lucien leaned his head to the side and scanned my body. Shackled by his gaze, I boiled from within as his cold stare moved back to me—searching or waiting for me to speak. But paralysis overtook me as if he had cast me under a spell.

Lucien clicked his tongue and brushed a brunette strand of hair out of my face. “We broke up,” he replied, short and right to the point.

I gulped.

My eyes narrowed, recalling our previous conversation. “Are you fucking with me because of what I said to you earlier about not brushing my teeth? You know, I was joking about the kissing part too.” I laughed, and it came out high-pitched and squeaky.

Lucien’s face relaxed from my words, and he gave me that boyish grin; the one where his stupid dimple sprung out, and without fail—my worries dissolved. “Now, why would I be teasing you?” He lowered a brow. “That doesn’t sound like me at all.”

Lucien moved his hands to my waist, and my breathing hitched.

He had to be fucking with me. I knew how much he loved teasing me ever since we were kids.

I turned my face slightly, but I still felt his eyes burning a hole through my skull like if he blinked or looked away, I would disappear from his line of sight forever.

“I-I don’t think you’re in your right mind,” I stuttered as he leaned closer to me. “You’re heartbroken and need to process your emotions. I get it. Honestly. More than anyone actually.”

Lucien paused, threw his head back, and chuckled, soft and humorless. “Addy.” He clicked his tongue again. “You really are something else. You know?” He lifted his hand from the couch and raised my chin. He moved his rough hand against my skin, cupping my cheek. “You have always been so clueless. It worries me since I thought I had been clear enough.”

“What are you talking about?”

Lucien leaned into me until his lips were aligned with mine; I could feel his breath with each word he whispered, “There’s only so many signals I can send you before I get discouraged.”

I opened my mouth but the throbbing in my temple resurfaced and intensified.

I winced in pain as an aggressive knock on the door jolted me from a slouched to upright position.