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He nodded, his eyes diverted as he admitted, “Yes. I’m a hellhound.”
He must not have known that I was already well aware of what he was, thanks to his buddy Baptiste. But it was almost heartbreaking to see his willingness to reveal himself, while being fully prepared for rejection.
“It’s… It’s fine,” I said, reaching out to touch his arm reassuringly. It took a lot of courage for a monster to reveal what he was to a stranger, so the least I could do was treat him kindly. “I mean, you didn’t hurt me or anything, so there’s nothing to apologize for.”
Lucian looked up at me with a mix of surprise and relief in his eyes, and I realized then just how close we were standing to each other.
I felt like I should pull my hand away, but I found I couldn’t move. His gaze pinned me in place like a butterfly in an insect collection.
I gulped, hoping the thumping of my heart wasn’t loud enough for him to hear. I could feel the warmth radiating off his skin,even from this distance, and all it did was make my heart beat faster.
Just then, Lucian’s head perked up, and he sniffed the air, mumbling to himself, “Fire?”
I was ripped from my daze as quickly as I had been pulled into it. “Shit!” I hissed, racing for the back door of my truck. “I left the oven on!”
What a total amateur move! I had really intended only to step out for a moment to greet Annabelle. I didn’t realize I would be getting sidetracked by Mr. Smokeshow.
I dashed to my workstation and snatched open the oven. A plume of smoke poured out into the tight space and filled my nostrils with the acrid scent of burning bread—the rolls that I simply meant to warm up real quick for my own lunch after the evening rush.
Now the damned things were on fire!
I coughed and grabbed a towel, waving it in front of my face, as if that would do anything to clear away the smoke.
Lucian was suddenly at my side, grabbing an extinguisher from under one of my counters and tugging me gently toward the back door as he worked quickly to put out the flames.
He worked expertly, spraying the extinguisher with precision until the smoldering rolls were nothing more than harmless black lumps.
Once the fire was dealt with, he shut the oven, turned on the circulation fan, then slid open the order window, all of which quickly vented out the smoke and made it possible to assess the situation.
To my relief, nothing had been damaged at all, besides my ego for making such a rookie mistake.
He then rushed to my side, eyes full of concern as he asked, “Are you okay?”
I nodded, still coughing a little from the smoke I had inhaled. “Yeah,” I said between gasps. “I think so.”
Lucian set down the extinguisher and checked my face for any burns, before looking over my hands and arms to ensure I hadn’t suffered any serious injuries.
The heat of his touch was almost unbearable, and I wasn’t sure if it was his hellhound nature or the sparks of electricity between us. But when it was clear we were both entirely unscathed, the adrenaline from before was replaced with something heady instead, the close quarters and relative privacy allowing room for something intimate to come over us.
I gulped as his eyes locked onto mine, and he leaned closer until I could feel the warmth of his breath against my lips.
I wasn’t sure who initiated the kiss. Perhaps it was him. Perhaps it was me. Maybe it was both of us, each moving toward the other instinctively, like opposite poles of a magnet. All I knew was that his mouth was soft and gentle despite his inherent strength.
His tongue brushed against the seam of my lips, asking, pleading.
And in that moment, I was all his.
I parted my lips, giving him access to my mouth as he cradled my head in his palms.
My senses were overwhelmed with him, every brush of his lips sending a thrill of desire straight between my legs.
Had anyone ever kissed me like that?
Had I ever been touched like this?
I knew the answer to that question, and it was a resounding no.
Lucian’s touch was nothing like the clumsy, inexperienced fumbling of my ex, nor the overzealous groping of men I’d dated before him.
