Roll For Initiative

39. Lucian

I honestly don’t know what is throwing me off more; Cassie’s erotic display during our campaign or the fact that her Dom sent her a fucking collar. Jayme knows exactly what it is, too. He didn’t believe her lie for a second. He looks at me with this knowing, smug grin. I shrug my shoulders. He can’t know that I know what she is into. That collar is expensive, though; knowing Theo Blackmore, those are 100% real diamonds. Jesus Christ.

Sunny and Ash say their goodbyes and head out. Jayme and I won’t be far behind. I might just let Jayme go back to my apartment because I’m still worried Cassie might have a concussion. She keeps rubbing the back of her head and looks dazed. Jayme walks over to her and grabs the box.

"Hey, what are you doing." She demands. She reaches for the box, but he holds it just out of reach.

"For my Beautiful Little one. Please wear this tomorrow with the black dress. You know the one I love. Theo." He reads the card aloud. Cassie’s face is pure hatred, bright red from embarrassment. I keep packing the stuff up, pretending I didn’t hear all that.

"Hey Luci. Looks like Cassie’s a Pet. Didn’t see that one coming." He chuckles. Now I’m red in the face.

* Umph *

Cassie knees him right in the groin and grabs the box. He is left coughing and holding himself hunched over. Totally deserved. She storms off toward her bedroom, so I chase after her. Looking back, I see Jayme give me the thumbs-up signal as he is practically throwing up from the pain. Damn, I need to remember she aims for the balls when she’s pissed. She goes to slam her bedroom door, but I stop it with my hand.

"Fuck off, Lucian. I don’t want to talk about it." She’s still bright red.

"Don’t talk about it then. I just wanted to make sure you are all right."

Her eyes and posture soften. Maybe she won’t hit me. I press my luck and try to maneuver past her into her room. She lets me. She closes the door behind us, and I hear a soft click. Did she just lock the fucking door?

"How’s your head doing? I see you keep rubbing the bump." I ask.

"It’s fine. Swellings down a bit, but it still hurts like a bitch though." She holds the back of her head, wincing. I can see the bruising forming on her jaw and throat in this lighting. I close the distance between us and gently cup her chin. Her eyes are wide, something between fear and arousal.

"What are these bruises from? And don’t fucking lie to me and say it happened by accident because those are fingerprints."

She looks down. Embarrassed and defeated.

"Fine. They are from the guy I’ve been seeing. It turns out he’s a bit possessive, and he found out we have been spending so much time together. He apparently saw us three out last night, and when I came out of your apartment, hair soaked, it made him see red. He thought I was cheating on him with you."

"He shoved you into the car, too, didn’t he!" I demand. My tone is a bit more hostile than I wanted it to be right now, but I’m just so fucking furious. She flinches; I have rarely raised my voice to her.

"Yeah." She can’t look me in the eye. "He grabbed me by the jaw and shoved my head back. I should have let him know I was staying at your place." She keeps her head down as if looking at me fills her with shame.

I put two fingers under her chin and lift her face to look at me. "Cass, it wasn’t your fault. There is nothing you should or shouldn’t have done. He shouldn’t have laid a finger on you. If anything, you should be mad. He sounds like a piece of shit."

"Here we go again. Lucian thinks that no one is ever good enough for me. Everyone is a bad guy, right?" She sarcastically replies.

"Oh, I’m sorry. Should I stand by and watch him hurt you? No, I don’t fucking think so. He so much as breathes the same air as you again, and I will end him."

"End him? Yeah, ok then.” She scoffs and rolls her eyes. “And obviously he is going to breathe the same air as me again because we are going out tomorrow night. But for your information, I haven't decided whether I will break it off yet. This is the first time he has done it, and he apologized. He said he won’t do it again." She can barely get the last sentence out. Even she doesn’t seem sure.

“Are you fucking kidding me? That’s just stupid. Why would you stay with someone who hurt you?” She tries to walk away, but I step closer, cupping her chin again. "Believe me when I say this, Cassandra, he hurts you, lays a single finger on you, he is done for. I don’t care who the fuck he is or how powerful. I will end him."

Shit, I said too much.

"How do you know how powerful he is? Do you know who he is?!" She steps away from me.

"Judging from the diamond-studded collar he bought you, I’d say that radiated rich and powerful. Don’t you think?"

"I don’t know why he bought me a collar. I don’t understand that shit. But yes, he is rich and powerful. That's why I think it’s funny that you think you could take him down.” She laughs and tries to turn toward her bathroom.

I grab her arm and pull her against me. Placing her hand over my heart. "I may not be rich or powerful, Cass, but you mean everything to me. I would do anything, and I mean anything, to make sure you are safe. I lose all my morals when it comes to you. If someone tried to hurt you, I would fucking ruin them. They would not be allowed to keep breathing." I know my eyes are dark; I can feel the rage burning from inside my stomach. My heart is racing. I can’t help it. This woman drives me crazy. It makes me want to do things I have never thought of before. I graze my fingers down her cheek and against her neck. Fuck it! I slide my hand to the back of her neck and crash my lips to hers.

I wind her hair around my fist, tilting her head to deepen our kiss. I lick along the seam of her lips, begging for her to let me in. She moans and bites onto my bottom lip. God damn, her biting turns me on. I suck her tongue into my mouth, biting gently onto it. She is pressing her body fully up against mine. Her hands frantically drag through my hair, clawing at my scalp. She drags her nails down the back of my neck, digging them into my shoulders and pulling me tighter to her. I break our kiss to trail my lips along the bruises he left, erasing the pain he caused her and replacing it with pleasure. I will remove every trace of him from her body.

I nip and suck on her neck as she arches her body. I reclaim her mouth, feeling like I will die without her kiss. Fuck, I need more. I reach down and grip behind her knees; sensing what I am doing, she wraps her legs around my waist—thrusting herself against the growing bulge in my pants—the friction causing my name to leave her lips like a whisper.

“Lucian.” She hums.

I spin us and put her back against the door. She whimpers as I grind my body against her. I can tell she is soaked. I can feel the heat seeping through her leggings. She’s so responsive to my touch. I grip her ass, digging my fingertips into her soft flesh. I want to feel her bare skin. These leggings are in the way.

I’m still kissing her as I start to slide the leggings down over her hips, taking her thong with it. She’s wearing a red lace one now. Red has always been my favorite color, and damn does she look good in it? I pull away from kissing her to catch my breath. We are both panting, unable to breathe as I have her pinned against the door. I reach under her shirt and cup her breast. This damn bra is in the way. I growl as I unhook the back clasps on her bra to give me better access. I pinch her nipple between my finger and thumb and am rewarded with a hiss as she bites down on my shoulder to muffle her moan.

“Mmmm, Lucian.” She whimpers in my ear as I slip my hand between us. Hearing my name in that sultry way has my entire body shuddering as I grind against her again.

I circle my thumb around her wet clit. God, she really is drenched. She is squirming and panting as I increase my speed, bringing her closer to her climax. I slide two fingers through her drenched slit; then I bring my hand up to show her how wet she is. She looks up at me with a hooded gaze. I slip my coated fingers into my mouth, showing her while I wrap my tongue around them, lapping up her juices. I want her to taste herself on me. For her to know just how crazy she makes me and how delicious she is. I close my eyes and lean forward to kiss her again, but she stops me.

I open my eyes and slightly pull back. Her eyes are filled with tears, and one spills over, leaving a streak of eyeliner with it. Why is she crying? I’m speechless; I don’t know what happened. Or what I did. She pushes against my chest harder and wiggles free from me as I set her down. She pulls back up her leggings and keeps looking at the ground. I step back to give her room, and I can see more tears staining her cheeks.

"I think you guys should leave." She says, trying to mask the shakiness in her voice.

"What the fuck." I’m utterly confused at this point. We were about to rip each other’s clothes off. "Why, Cass? What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?"

"No. It’s nothing like that. I just...” She pauses, looking away. “I think you should go. It’s late. We’ve been drinking. You’re feeling protective of me because of him, and your emotions are everywhere. And I am so emotional after that shit earlier. And if this..." she gestures between us and sighs. "If this happens, you will regret it. After all, I’m like a sister to you, right?” She practically whispers. She turns and walks into her bathroom, locking it. Fully throwing up a wall between us.

I can’t think straight. I can’t breathe, let alone fucking talk. What the fuck just happened. Things were going great. I thought this would finally be the push I needed to admit everything to her. I wanted her, and it seemed like she wanted me. I unlock the bedroom door and slam it shut behind me. Fine, throw up the fucking wall, then.

"Fuck, dude, she has some power behind those legs." He notices my face. Red and full of rage. "What the hell happened in there? I assumed from all the bumping you guys were finally fucking."

I glare at him. "No. Let’s fucking go. Now."

"Woah, ok. I’ll grab your bag." He goes to pick up the bag, but I am already at the front door. We walk out, and I slam it shut. I hear what sounds like glass breaking. I must have knocked a picture frame down. Oh, well. Fuck it, and fuck her.

Fuck it all.

"Tomorrow, we are going to Vixens. I need some fun!" I say to him as I slump in his passenger seat.

"Fuck yea!!!! Does that mean you are coming back to California with me too?"

"Fucking seems like it. Nothing is keeping me tied here anymore, apparently."

"Fuck yes! I’m sorry things didn’t go as planned. But dude, we are going to have so much fun tomorrow." He slaps me on the shoulder. "Maybe we can have some fun like old times. A little spit roasting." He waggles his eyebrows at me, and I can’t help but laugh.

"Fine, but you get their mouth this time."