Page 27 of Midnight Secrets

Her head tilted back, and one of her hands landed on my waist.

“Most of the husbands I know are overrated pompous assholes who use their wives to produce heirs and host their dinner parties.”

“Papa takes me as his guest to dinners to prepare me for what lies ahead.”

My head dipped until my lips skimmed her ear. “What do you want in a relationship?” I asked.

Her forehead rested on my shoulder. “I want a man who would destroy the world for me. Someone who loves me so much that he would defy Papa just to claim me. I need a man who puts me at the centre of his world because he’s in the middle of mine.”

“That’s quite a list.”

Her head shook and her hair caressed the side of my face. “I just want to be loved and be allowed to love freely.”

She made me yearn for things that I shouldn’t.

A loud beep sounded in her room and her body froze. “What was that?” I asked.

“Shit!” I lifted my head to look at her because her expletive was out of character. “I told you to come at ten. That beep means that all the security systems have activated. I can’t leave my room without setting off an alarm.”

“What?” I stared toward the door of the safe room. “How the hell am I supposed to get back to my room?”

“You don’t unless you want to explain what you’re doing here to Papa. The windows are alarmed as well.”

“Seriously?” I demanded. It was like medieval times when daughters were locked away from the horny knights set to besmirch their honour.

“Yep. Welcome to my life. Don’t worry, I’ll sleep on the daybed in here. I sometimes sleep in here because the door is closed when the alarms come online.”

I was starting to view her life in a different light and it wasn’t a charming one.

Sighing, I dragged her out of the room before we both got stuck in there for the night. “I think we’re both grown up enough to sleep in your king-size bed.”

Her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened before they moved to the bed in question. “Um.”

“Do you promise not to ravish me?” I teased.

Her cheeks were on fire and she couldn’t look me in the eye. My fingers under her chin lifted her gaze.

“We’re trapped in this room together unless you want to explain to Lucas what I’m doing here and why you’ve converted that room into a workspace.” Her eyes darted to the side. “Then we need to make the best of the situation. I have my phone, and I’m sure my teeth will cope for one night without being brushed.”

“Will you not be uncomfortable sleeping in your clothes?”

She really was far too innocent for a man like me… “I sleep most nights in my boxers anyway.”

If her cheeks got any hotter, they would set the curtains on fire.

I leaned down to whisper in her ear. “No taking advantage of me.”

Lucrezia practically ran into the bathroom as if the hounds of hell were chasing her. Fuck my life. How did I end up in this situation? Why did no one tell me that Lucas had alarms on all the girls’ rooms?

To save her any more embarrassment, I threw my clothes over the chair and climbed into her bed. A Kindle sat on the nightstand at one side, and was obviously the side she slept on. I took the other side. She crept in around ten minutes later, her eyes huge and her hair cascading around her.

In my head, I imagined her sleeping in silk and lace, and was definitely not prepared for the Minnie Mouse nightdress with ears strategically placed to draw attention to her breasts.

My lips turned up into a smile. She pointed at me. “Not a word,” she warned.

How the hell was I turned on by a Disney character nightdress? Yet, right now, my dick was paying attention to every little detail about her, including the fuzzy ears.

“I wasn’t going to say a word.”

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