“Thank you, Mr. Jones, that’s really very kind of you,” she took the tray from his hands and looked down sceptically at the haphazardly made peanut butter and jelly sandwich that sat on a plate next to a glass of milk. Not exactly up to the same standard as her breakfast the day before.
“You really don’t need to worry about cooking for me and bringing me my meals though, I’m sure you have much more important things to be getting on with, and I’ve been cooking for me and my Dad since I can remember, so I’ll be more than happy to fend for myself in the kitchen.”
The elderly man blinked repeatedly while she spoke to him. Before reaching out to take the tray back from her.
“Please accept my apologies, my lady, I will ensure your meals are more to your satisfaction in the future.”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant,” Katherine rushed to correct herself, “PB and J; it’s a classic, right? I haven’t had one in years, but do you know, it’s exactly what I need. It’s like a hug in sandwich form, right?”
Mr. Jones’ eyes softened, the glassy edge to them fading slightly.
“My daughter used to say the same.”
“Oh you have a daughter, how old is she now?” Katherine brightened at this information, perhaps she could appeal to the man’s sense of fatherly caring. Not all men were like her father after all.
The man grimaced, his face creasing in some kind of unknown pain for a brief moment before he recovered. When he looked up at Katherine again, the shine was back over his eyes and he blinked dumbly at her.
“I will take away your breakfast tray. Please accept my apologies again for the substandard quality of the meal provided.”
“Oh, no- really it’s fine,” Katherine looked down at where he bent to gather up a tray laden with two slices of burned toast and another glass of milk. “That would’ve been my go-to breakfast of choice, I just slept in late. That’s my fault, really.”
Mr. Jones didn’t even acknowledge her words as he turned and made his shuffling way down the corridor, past a pile of clutter that had been left outside her room. She wanted to go after him to check he was OK, as his reaction just a moment ago was anything but normal, but something shining in the untidy mound of stuff caught her eye.
It wasn’t clutter. It was her stuff.
She quickly put down her lunch tray on a nearby console table and rushed over to the pile of boxes, bags, and books. It looked like half of her wardrobe had been delivered, all her study books, as well as notepads that she had been switching between, a bundle of power cables and of course her precious laptop, sat proudly on top. An envelope was placed beside it, along with a single yellow rose.
Katherine frowned, she had been so thrilled with seeing her things she had forgotten that she had told Lucian that she didn’t want them fetched for her; she wanted to get them herself. With a huff, she bundled her things into her room and heavy-handedly shoved the delicate flower into the vase by the fireplace, squeezing it in next to yesterday’s lavender rose. With a few choice expletives muttered under her breath, she quickly set about unpacking her study things on the small desk in the corner of the room.
She flipped open her computer and opened up her emails, eager to see what she had missed in the past couple of days. One email grabbed her attention. She had an assignment due next week. Not just an assignment, a presentation to give. She scribbled down the details on a stick note and stuck the reminder on the screen. She had no idea how she was going to be able to deliver it, not with her jailer refusing to let her leave, but she would at least create the slides and send those to her tutor with an apology.
Next, she unpacked her clothes, slotting them in amongst the rest in the walk-in closet. She would be damned if they would become creased, now that she had her clothes, she would make a point of wearing them instead of the outfits that Lucian had provided. Upon finding her running leggings, sports bra, and a tank top, she tried to ignore the zing of joy she felt as she pulled them on. Yes, she was glad to have her things, but she was not happy with how she had acquired them. Storming back out into her room, Katherine snatched up the wax-sealed envelope and the clumsy-looking PB and J sandwich and sat down upon her bed to read what the controlling bastard had to say for himself.
Dear Katherine,
Please accept my apologies once again for the unnecessary distress caused yesterday. I hope that you will be more comfortable here now that you have your belongings.
The front doors to the mansion are unlocked, as promised. Should you require anything else, please let me know.
As ever, the invitation to join me for dinner still remains.
Yours,
Lucian
Katherine chewed her sandwich and swallowed the sticky bread down before taking another bite.
Ever polite, ever sincere, ever respectful Lord Nightingale. She was annoyed that he was being so civil. The fact remained that she had told him twice now that she wanted to be the one to go get her things and he had denied her twice. And now she had her stuff, there was little point in arguing because she had what she wanted. However, that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t argue with him. He had deliberately done what she said she didn’t want: had some stranger go into her home and rummage through her things.
She slammed the letter down onto the bedspread and stood to march out of her room. She paused only to finish her sandwich and glass of milk. She didn’t want Mr. Jones to think she didn’t enjoy it. She quickly penned a note to the butler, to thank him and left the empty tray outside the door.
She peered over the balcony down into the Great Hall, it was empty, the heavy curtains pulled shut, blocking out the sunlight. Now she knew why. Lucian could move freely about this home during the daylight hours if the sun were blocked out. She jogged down the stairwell and across the floor towards the giant tapestry. Did she require anything else from him? Like hell she did, she required to give him a piece of her mind.
Slipping behind the heavy fabric, Katherine cursed herself for not bringing a torch again. Never mind. She’d just have to let her eyes adjust and feel her way. She knew where she was going this time so was confident that the worst that would happen would be she would stub her toe, not fall into a bottomless pit. She slowly climbed the dark stairs that led up to Lucian’s room. The short corridor was thankfully empty of any furniture that might pose as a tripping hazard in the pitch dark. She reached the heavy doors and wasted no time pounding her fist against the wood.
A second later a light shone from underneath the door, right before it swung open to reveal Lucian still striding towards it. Katherine frowned, and not just because the doors had seemingly opened on their own accord.
“You were sleeping?” She asked, cocking her head to one side.
“Yes, it is daytime. Is everything alright?” Lucian came to stand in front of her his hands placed firmly on his narrow hips, his chest was back on full display for her to ogle and she quickly snapped her eyes back to his face. That wasn’t helpful either as his hair was a little messed up, reminding her of how he had looked last night.
“Yes, everything is fine,” she stammered, “well, no actually. No, it is not fine.”
“What is wrong?” Lucian’s hands reached out and gently held her arms, pulling her into his room.
His warm strong hands on her skin sent shivers down her spine and she had another embarrassing flashback to how he’d used his hands on her the night before. She found herself sat on the edge of his bed again, the cool silky bed sheets gliding beneath her as she perched there.
“Katherine? What is it?” Lucian’s eyes had lost their sleepy edge and were now looking at her with the patented, Lucian Nightingale, steady focus.
“I’m pissed with you,” she snapped out of her daze and decided it was time to stop beating about the bush with him, professional and polite language be damned.
“You’re pissed off with me? Why, what have I done or not done?” Lucian’s brow furrowed in confusion. Hearing the crude language come from h
is mouth was a revelation. One that she found she quite liked.
“Because you got someone to go rummaging through my home to bring me my stuff. I told you I wanted to get it myself,” she replied.
Lucian folded his arms across his chest and set his jaw in a hard line as he continued to hold her gaze.
“You are well aware that our contract requires you to remain at Tumbricane for the duration of the term.”
“Yes, but you also told me I could make reasonable requests, and being free to get my things definitely falls into that category.”
“I said I would consider your requests, and I did, then took action to ensure you had what it was you desired while also maintaining the conditions of our agreement,” Lucian replied, “as far as I see it, I have given you no reason to be ‘pissed’ with me,” his sharp jaw raised slightly making him look haughty and too good looking for his own good.
“You’ve had someone go into my apartment, likely break-in, and paw through my personal space, my personal belongings, how can you not see what is wrong with that picture?” Katherine fumed at him, jumping off from the bed and squaring up to him. Echoes from the night before began to flare to life, adrenaline seeping into her veins.
“You said you didn’t want a stranger going through your things-”
“Exactly, but you did it anyway,” she fisted her hands at her sides to resist the urge to poke him in his stupid, infuriatingly perfect chest.
“And I respected your wishes, and you now have your belongings, why do you insist on persisting with this?” Lucian stared down at her. She hated that he could do that.
“How have you respected my wishes?”
“You didn’t want a stranger going through your personal effects, so they didn’t. I collected your belongings for you,” Lucian placed his hands on his hips once more.
“What?” Katherine spluttered “You got my things? You, Lord of the Manor, drove five hours to the city, broke into my apartment, grabbed my stuff, and then drove five hours back- all before sunrise? Come on Lucian, I’m not an idiot.”
“I have never thought you to be an idiot. And yes, this Lord of the Manor drove three and a half hours to the city, did not break in but was let in by your housemate, gathered your belongings, and drove the three and a half hours back, before sunrise,” Lucian ground his teeth in frustration, his voice rising as he continued.
“And then do you know what this Lord of the Manor did? He checked the doors were left unlocked for you so you could explore the grounds as you so wished, he wrote you a letter to re-iterate his most sincerest apologies for the events of last night that could’ve been avoided if he had not been so absent-minded, and finally, finally he went to sleep because after all of that, and let us not forget getting into a fight with a dragon, he was bloody tired.”
“OK, a couple of points I’d like to pick up on there,” Katherine stood her ground, cocking her hip to one side, “One: you cannot drive to the city from here in three and a half hours; I’ve driven it, so I know-”
“You can if you’re not driving an economy rental,” Lucian argued back.
“I wasn’t finished,” Katherine pressed her finger to his lips and received a low growl of frustration in return. She didn’t care, for all his huffing and puffing she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. “Two: my housemate wouldn’t have let you into my room so you must’ve broken in, and finally you, a stranger, went through my stuff which remains a massive invasion of my privacy.”
“Actually your housemate did let me in,” Lucian took her hand away from his mouth and held it against his chest, pulling her forward, “in fact, she was especially useful in helping me gather your things, in particular packing your more intimate items of clothing as I knew you would not wish for me to rummage through such things, as you so put it. Not that it would even matter because as you are well aware, you and I are far from being strangers.”
“How are you not a stranger?” Katherine scoffed indignantly.
“I believe I stopped being a stranger to you the moment I brought you to climax twice last night,”
A blush rose up over her face, burning her hotly.
“So? Plenty of people enjoy casual sex, have one-night stands,” she stammered back, refusing to back down.
“Is that what you enjoy, Katherine?” Lucian asked, his eyes heating.
“Sometimes,” she admitted, “it helps to satisfy a need, and I don’t have time for a boyfriend, I’ve got plans, plans that you have disrupted by kidnapping me,” she bit out, shoving her face forward to meet his.
“If you have needs, Katherine, I have already proven that I am more than capable of fulfilling them. I am not keeping you from your plans, I have gone out of my way to enable you to continue studying for your degree, you have merely had a change in location. And for the record, if anything this is detainment: not kidnapping.”
“Oh, you can fulfil my needs, can you? Well let me tell you, buddy, I’ve had better.”
“I think you described it as ‘the most mind-blowing orgasms of your life’.” Lucian corrected.
“If you hadn’t noticed, I was trying to get away from you and back to my room, I was just being nice so that you’d let me leave.”
Lucian dropped her hand only to grab her beneath her thighs and heft upwards, walking her backwards so her back bumped against the tall bedpost. She hated the bastard, she hated herself more for the way she immediately wrapped her legs around his waist.
“Don’t lie to me, Katherine, or try to pretend that this fire between us is anything other than exquisite, if you want me to prove it to you again, I’ll gladly do so,” he breathed harshly against her lips.
Katherine’s core was hot with need, she could feel the length of him pressed against her through her running leggings and she wanted him badly. She hated the attraction she felt towards him, the raw and powerful need to fight him with her body.
“Don’t you dare,” she threatened.
“Oh, I do dare, Katherine, I dare to make you scream my name to the heavens when you give me your pleasure.”
Lucian’s eyes were two orbs of dangerous intent and Katherine wanted to dive headlong into something dark and hungry and satisfying with him, but it wasn’t right. She didn’t come to him with the intention of being seduced, she came wanting a fight. She had just never met someone with whom she had clashed with such intensity before and it was utterly intoxicating. She needed to regain her power. Retreat and regroup. She couldn’t win in a battle of desire, he outwitted her every time and she couldn’t deny how much she wanted to give in to him. She needed to back down now and figure out how she could avoid turning into a helpless, little sex kitten whenever she was around him.
Lose the battle to win the war. Katherine told herself.
She shifted her eyes away from his, she couldn’t bear for him to see her defeated.
“Lucian, please stop,” she whispered, the tremor in her voice betraying her weakness.
Immediately she found herself lifted and placed down upon the edge of the bed, she looked down at where he knelt on the floor in front of her.
“Of course, Katherine, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you, I would never-”
“It’s fine,” she waved a hand dismissing his sweet and genuine concern, afraid that if she looked too deeply into his eyes she’d crack, and heaven forbid, would begin to cry. “I should go. I’m sorry for waking you.”
“You could keep me awake for a hundred years and I wouldn’t mind,” Lucian assured her, rising as she did and following her towards the door.
“Anyway, none of this matters,” she sniffed as she tried once again to brush off their argument and her surrender. “I’ve got my stuff now, so I can get on with my studies.”
“Of course it matters, Katherine, please, don’t walk away, we can discuss this calmly,” Lucian tried to convince her to stay but she knew she had to get out of his company.
She needed to run, not so far as to risk another dragon attack, but enou
gh to help focus her mind on something other than her situation, and other than a man who had her tied up in knots.
“I think I’ve bothered you enough for today, sleep well Lucian.”
“Will you at least join me for dinner tonight? I promise I will keep my mood in check,” Lucian asked. It was a low blow. Katherine knew he had been trying to get her to join him for dinner since they first met, and he was persistent even when he could see she was on the ropes.
“Fine, Lucian. Dinner would be great.”
Her voice held no enthusiasm. She knew what would happen. She would sit down with him, they would argue, get in each other’s faces, and then bam; the sexual chemistry would strike again and she wasn’t sure if she’d have the strength to resist, not when she already knew how good it could be.
“I’ll see you tonight then. Enjoy the rest of your day, Katherine,” Lucian said to her retreating back, she was already putting one foot steadily in front of the other, descending down the dark stairs that led to the great hall.
She crossed the room and pulled on the great doors. They opened for her revealing the misty early afternoon, she looked around and spied a path that led around the side of the mansion and towards a small open patch of land and a cluster of buildings beyond. Katherine closed the doors behind her, shutting out thoughts of Lord Lucian Nightingale, and broke into a jog.
Chapter Ten
Lucian
Lucian couldn’t sleep after Katherine’s visit. He paced to his walk-in closet and threw on a pair of black slacks and one of his standard white shirts. He had pushed her too far, he’d lost his temper in the face of her aggravation and he’d clearly taken the challenge too far. He didn’t mean to break her, but as she had walked away from him with her shoulders slumped, he had cursed his own stupidity. Her spirit was what made her both infuriating and irresistible, and she’d lost it in a blink of an eye.
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