Lucien (6 page)

“Well, it’s funny you should ask—”

“Raven!”

“I’ll tell you about it later,” Raven promised.

Elise sighed as the waiter arrived. “I tried to tell you, Luc.” She sipped her water then smiled up at the waiter. “Raven, did Mom tell you what she wanted to eat?”

Raven placed his and Moonbeam’s order, then Luc and Elise ordered.

Moonbeam made a slight noise and Raven sighed. “When she gets done with you, Luc, I’ll still be here.”

Elise tugged on Luc’s arm and looked imploringly up at him. “You’ll tell him everything, won’t you,
darling
? Raven’s a romantic, he’ll understand our
feelings
for each other.”

Moonbeam sucked in a deep breath and Luc suspected she was seconds away from exploding.

Raven’s smile disappeared. “Are you telling me that you two are actually in—”

“
Married
,” Moonbeam erupted. “Elisabeth Wyndemere Hamilton, you know better than to go and do something so stupid as to…
get married
! Of all the foolish things you could do! Subjugating yourself to a male dominated institution is the most idiotic notion you’ve ever had. Didn’t you read those articles I gave you?”

“Yes, but—”

“Then why would you allow yourself to be manipulated into giving up your independence and losing your femininity in an institution created by man and governed by man? Have you no dignity? Raven, talk to your sister. Tell her what a mistake she’d be making. Elisabeth, don’t get married. Have an affair. It’s much easier and you don’t have to get the government involved and when it sours you can walk away without having to drag it through the courts. Please, Elisabeth. Think. Do you really want to get married?”

“Mom, I—”

“Are you pregnant,” Moonbeam demanded.

“She better not be,” Raven ground out.

“I am not pregnant.”

“Well, why not? You’re not still—”

“Mother,” Elise interrupted loudly. “I am not pregnant. Luc and I are getting married on Saturday.”

Moonbeam scowled at Luc. “Are you blackmailing my daughter into marrying you? I saw that talk show where men just like you blackmailed their employees into—”

“Mom,” Elise snapped. “Luc is not blackmailing me.”

Moonbeam looked as baffled as Luc felt. “But, Elisabeth, why would you and Luc agree to do something so binding as marriage? Why not handfast like your father and I did?”

Elise picked up Luc’s hand, laced their fingers together, and dug her nails into his flesh. “
Lucien
, we have to tell them. They’ll understand.”

“Um, Elise, I’m not sure if that would be the wisest—”

She silenced him a look of warning. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of,
Lucien
.” The enunciation of his name was more pronounced—sweeter, almost like an endearment. “Mother will understand your
feelings
. She’ll understand why you couldn’t bring yourself to cheapen your
feelings
for me by having an affair.” She punctuated the word ‘feelings’ with sharp jabs of her nails in his flesh.

“My feelings—”

“Run deep,
darling
. Yes, I know. So do mine. My
feelings
, that is.” Elise laid her head against his shoulder and kicked him underneath the table. “Go ahead and tell them how much you need me in your life,
darling
.” She lifted his arm and draped it around her shoulder, pulling herself closer to him and freeing her left hand.

Luc sucked in a sharp breath as Elise used her left hand to carve letters into his leg. He cleared his throat. “Moonbeam, Raven, I am marrying Elise because I need her and I…,” he paused waiting for Elise to finish writing on his thigh. L-O-V— “And I love her.” Love her? Where the hell had
that
come from?

Elise snuggled closer and patted his leg. “It took me forever to get him to understand, Mom. And Lucien is so old-fashioned. He absolutely refused to have an affair when his feelings for me were so pure and deep felt. How could I have refused him when—with his heart in his eyes—he pleaded with me to marry him and make all of his problems fade away?”

Elise stifled a giggle and practically skipped behind Luc as he stalked a path through the cubicle farm towards his office. Raven and Moonbeam were now convinced that Luc was madly in love with her and they’d reluctantly given their blessings. All that was left was to tell her father, which wouldn’t be a problem. Her father’s motto was: If it’s what you want to do, princess, then nothing I say will change your mind. At least that’s what it would be if she got to her father before Raven did.

Luc marched into his office and Elise followed, closing the door behind her. He hadn’t said a word since leaving the restaurant.

He tossed his jacket onto the sofa and pinned her with a fierce look. “What tale do you plan on weaving for your father? Will we become star crossed lovers brought together over the flames of your computer? With me rescuing from the billowing flames of the desktop?”

Elise beamed at him. “Daddy doesn’t need a tale. He’ll stare at you for a while and probably tell you fifty ways he can kill a man with a tie, but he’ll give his blessing.”

“Forgive me, darlin’, if I don’t believe you.”

“You’re just mad because you had to tell a little white lie.”

“A little white lie? Elise, you have Raven and Moonbeam believing that our marriage is a fairy tale romance.” He cursed under his breath, ran a hand through his hair, and started to turn away. “No dammit, this is not okay,” he ground out and advanced on her.

Elise flattened her back against the door as Luc trapped her, pressing his palms against the cool wood on either side of her head. She’d never seen him like this. He was seething. “Um, Luc, I, uh—”

He lowered his head until they were nose to nose. “I don’t like little white lies, Elise. I don’t like hearing them and I especially don’t like delivering them.”

“But it was—”

“There will be no more scenes like today, Elise.”

She’d never noticed until now, but there was a hint of gold in his gray-ish eyes. “It was more of an embellishment and—”

“Elise,” he warned and the gold in his eyes flickered like an unholy flame. “No more.”

“I only did it because Moonbeam would do anything in her power to stop me from committing, what in her opinion would be, relationship suicide. And if Raven knew why, he’d kill me.”

“After he killed me.” Luc groaned and rested his forehead against his arm. “Damn, Elise, all I want to do is marry you. Why does your family have to question my motives? And my feelings,” he said derisively.

She relaxed somewhat, which was hard considered that he was invading her personal space and she was enjoying it more than she should be. “They love me and they want to make sure I’m making the right decision. Your family would do the same thing.”

He gave a short bark of laughter. “You don’t know my family. When I told my mother, she was more concerned with throwing the social event of the season and changing the names on the programs.” He turned his head to tell her, “By the way, you’re supposed to have dinner with Mom and the sisters tonight.”

“Tonight? What time?”

“Whatever time they get here. You’ll be on your own until seven. Mom said she needs your measurements.”

“What? Alone?” Her body tingled from the heat and proximity of his chest. “Why,” she asked breathlessly. She made the mistake of turning her head and found herself scant centimeters from his mouth.

“For the dress,” he replied softly. His gaze dropped to her mouth.

Her tongue darted out, moistening her lips. “What dress?”

“The wedding dress,” he whispered. “Do that again.”

“Do what?” A slow ache of tension built in the pit of her stomach. Her arms grew heavy and her knees threatened to buckle. Her breathing quickened and her fingers twitched to touch him.

“Lick your lips.” His voice turned husky, rasping deliciously against her skin.

She complied and he moved closer.

“Touch me,” he ordered raggedly.

“Luc, I—”

“Touch me.”

Her hands lifted and she cautiously slid her fingers up his chest to wide, powerful shoulders. She was trembling with excitement, fear, and anticipation.

“No more scenes, Elise.” One hand skimmed down then up her side while the other moved across her shoulder, sifting through her hair and caressing her neck. His hand, strong and warm, cupped her face and his attention flickered to her mouth then back to her eyes. “No more scenes.”

Her hands flexed on his shoulders, her nails digging into the cotton fabric of his shirt. “It was just an embellishment,” she breathed as he drew closer.

Her lashes drifted shut and she shivered as his lips tentatively touched hers. Lights exploded in her mind as his tongue danced across her bottom lip, tasting and teasing her into opening for him. She sighed and leaned in towards him. His fingers dug into her hair, tilting her head to the side, and he kissed her. His lips moved against hers, his tongue dueled with hers. He devoured her, demanding everything she had and she gave him all.

She felt him groan and his hand moved down to catch her waist, pulling her up hard against him. Her insides turned to liquid and poured into the center of her body. Her body was awake and tingling. Everywhere. Her breasts were crushed against his hard chest and they ached. She gripped the shoulders of his shirt, wanting nothing more than to rip the crisp, white cotton off him.

Never in her life had anyone kissed her like this. Kissed her with such hunger and need and… urgency. She was starving and couldn’t get enough. Blood roared in her ears and her heart felt as if it would pound out of her chest. Her palms grew sweaty, her knees buckled, and Luc was there to catch her. His arm came around her waist, pulling her harder against him until she could feel his body’s response pressing into her stomach.

Thunder echoed in the distance and muffled whistles shrilled in the background. She whimpered and moved her hands around his neck, threading her fingers through the soft hair brushing the collar of his shirt. All too soon she felt Luc draw back, ending the kiss as breathless as her. His eyes burned and she knew the heat in his gaze was reflected in hers. She’d never wanted any man the way she wanted him at this very moment.

“Luc,” she whispered, slightly confused and disoriented.

He pressed her cheek to his chest and rested his chin on the crown of her head. “The next time you start to seduce me make sure the blinds are closed. The whole damn office saw us.”

Elise groaned and tried to burrow closer. “I did not start to seduce you, Lucien. You’re always trying to seduce me.”

“Darlin’, if I’d started to seduce you, I’d have made damn sure the blinds were closed. I’ll be glad when this job is over with.” His fingers massaged her waist, urging her closer.

“When do we leave?”

“The day after the wedding.”

Before she could stop herself, she said, “You still have time to find someone else.”

“After that kiss? Hell no. I’m looking forward to the wedding night.” He pulled back and grinned wolfishly down at her. “You could invite me over to your place tonight and—”