Page 28 of Midnight Secrets

Her eyes narrowed at me and I watched her retreating figure disappear into the safe room beside her bed. She returned with her sketchpad.

“You wanted to see my designs,” she reminded me.

I’d completely forgotten all about the reason for me being here. Lucrezia sat cross-legged on the bed and I tried not to notice the way that ridiculous red and black nightdress rode up her thigh.

She flicked through the pages, pointing out designs and the different collections for each of the gem types, all connected to nature and the four elements. She’d obviously been thinking about this a lot and now I felt like a dick for not texting her. All she wanted was someone to bounce ideas off.

We ended up propped against the headboard two hours later, chatting about how she could infuse different display ideas into the collection to make her jewellery stand out. She didn’t realise the display was as important as the pieces she was going to put on it. It had been a long time since I’d been this closely involved in setting a business up and everything about it was refreshing. What was even more surprising was how easy it was to be in Lucrezia’s presence.

It was only when she turned to say something to me and our noses touched that I realised how close we were sitting. Her eyes stared into mine and I was lost, completely and utterly drowning in her depths.

Lucrezia Black would either be my salvation or my ruination.

***

Chapter Eleven

Lucrezia

The world stopped spinning and the night held its breath. Ash’s eyes bored into mine and my heart stumbled erratically in my chest.

Ash was here. In my bed. I had no idea what to do with that situation.

We’d spent hours talking and it was the first time I’d been able to have a real and meaningful conversation about my business with anyone. It had always felt like scraps being offered by people before—pats on the head or the jewellers indulging me in a whim. Ash didn’t do that: he called bullshit when he saw it and encouraged me in the areas he thought would succeed.

“Maybe I should sleep in the safe room,” he muttered in a deep, husky voice.

“I thought we were pretending to be adults.”

He pursed his lips and closed his eyes for a brief moment. “I’m struggling with that concept right now.”

“What do adults normally do in this situation?”

His eyes blazed into mine. “Which situation? Being locked in a room because your father doesn’t trust men around his daughters? Or being in bed with a woman who is slowly eroding my sanity?”

I traced the tip of my finger down the centre of his chest. “How do I erode your sanity?”

His hand grasped my wrist. “I don’t do gentle deflowering of virgins.”

“Did I ask you to be gentle?”

His grip tightened until I was sure there would be a bruise tomorrow. “Lucrezia,” Ash growled in warning. “This isn’t a game.”

No, it wasn’t. This was my life and I wanted more than I ever had before. Existing in a gilded cage wasn’t the same as experiencing the world and all the wonder contained in it. I wanted to open the door, stretch my wings, and learn to fly the same way Sofia had. She was different since she went to university, and I craved that change as well.

I refused to overthink this anymore. Instead, I closed the small space between Ash and me, and pressed my lips to his. Papa always said that if I wanted something, I was to grab it before someone else did.

His body froze for an instant before his other hand buried itself it my hair and he angled my head to receive his onslaught. This time, I was ready for him, my tongue eagerly meeting his, my mouth moving with his in perfect synchronisation.

I moaned and crawled closer to him. He radiated heat that I craved and needed to soak into my cold and lonely soul.

“Fuck it,” he muttered, his body rolling over mine to trap me under his powerful frame. My legs widened to accommodate Ash and my hands lodged in his hair when he released my wrist. His hips pushed mine into the bed and I dragged him even closer.

My body burned with an intensity I’d never experienced before, my pulse pounding in my ears. Every muscle and nerve ending in my body craved his touch, goosebumps rising on my skin as if it was trying to reach him.

He slowly pulled back. His breathing was ragged, his cheeks flushed, and his eyes bright. “I should go.”

Neither of us moved because a magnetic force stronger than both of us slowly wrapped around us to bind us together.

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