Page 83 of Lucian

“Because you’ve been out of the bed more than you’ve been in it. You wander the halls. How is that healthy for someone? You need sleep and you’re not getting nearly enough.”

“So my sleep patterns make you think I have dreams?”

“No,” Jordyn said, keeping calm. “Antony mentioned—”

“Fuck my father for saying a goddamned thing!” Lucian snapped, shutting her up instantly. “That’s none of his business, and it sure as hell isn’t yours, either, Jordyn!”

That hurt, but Jordyn refused to show it. “Isn’t it?”

“No!”

“Then what am I doing here with you, Lucian?”

Lucian stood even straighter, fingers clasping tight around the metal edge of the table until his knuckles turned white from pressure. “You were the one who got out of bed.”

“Your noise woke me up,” Jordyn reminded him.

“Well, I’m finished, now. Go back to bed and drop it.”

“No thanks. Let’s talk.”

“I’d rather chew on rocks, actually.”

Mature, Jordyn thought drily.

“Are you serious? You won’t even bother to explain to me why you’re so angry you don’t even want to look at me?”

Lucian turned to stare her straight in the eyes again. “Happy?”

“No, you’re angry with me.”

“I wonder why! You went behind my back and discussed private things about my past with my father. If there was something you wanted to know about when it comes to me, I am the only person you need to ask.”

“I did not,” Jordyn replied at the same calm level. “Antony asked if you still walked the halls, I said yes, and he mentioned you sometimes dream of things. Funny, he assumed you would have explained this to me already. What am I missing here, Lucian?”

“Nothing,” he muttered, teeth grinding. “Leave it the hell alone.”

“See, and that right there is why I have to wonder what I’m doing here.”

“Because I love you!”

“But you don’t trust me.”

“That’s not true. Please go to bed, Jordyn.”

“Are you ashamed, or embarrassed? Does it hurt to talk about it? What is it?”

Lucian’s hands slammed down to the table, rocking everything on top and making Jordyn flinch. “Stop it. It’s not up for discussion. I won’t say it again.”

“Lovers do more than just fuck, Lucian. Relationships aren’t only about the physical. They talk. They build a foundation based on separate pasts and the desire for a mutual future. Trust is required for this to work. Don’t you understand that?”

Lucian’s tongue snaked out to wet his lips as he whispered, “Please go back to bed.”

Jordyn wasn’t defeated, but she could tell by the refusal of even his attention that Lucian wouldn’t talk to her about the topic she’d brought up. At least not tonight.

With a heavy heart, she turned to leave the room, but Lucian’s quiet voice with all anger gone stopped her. “I’ll take the spare bedroom, sweetheart.”

Jordyn sighed. “I think that’d be wise.”