Escaping The Beast: A Darkhills Romance (The Darkhills Series Book 2)

by Elizabeth Greene

  “She seems nice,” Lucian ventured.

  “She’s a peach,” Katherine responded sharply, “Lucian, what are you doing here?”

  “I came to watch your presentation.”

  “You’re keeping tabs on me.”

  “No, I simply wanted to see you present your thesis.”

  “Liar,” she grit out between her teeth, “seriously, why go to the effort of loaning me a car and letting me leave only to come all the way out here to check up on me? If you didn’t trust me you shouldn’t have bothered to let me go in the first place,” Katherine said, hotly.

  “I am not lying; I promised you honesty and I keep my promises,” Lucian ground out. “Why do you assume I am here to check up on you?”

  “Why else would you be here? And also,” she looked nervously to the side and lowered her voice, “how are you here? The sun has only been down a couple of hours.”

  “I’m here to watch your presentation as I said,” Lucian replied in an exasperated tone. This argument of theirs was going nowhere. “And I didn’t exactly have far to come, considering I spent the day at my penthouse.”

  “You have a penthouse?- Of course, you have a penthouse. So you weren’t at Tumbricane this morning?” Katherine asked narrowing her eyes.

  “No, I was at my penthouse on the upper east side. Really, Katherine, I’m not entirely sure why this is causing you so much consternation,” Lucian folded his arms across his chest.

  “I’m just trying to piece this all together. So, you came all the way here, before you knew I would take you up on your offer of the temporary leave of absence and the loan of your car, on the assumption that I would try to escape so you could catch me in the act.”

  She stepped into his space a little further, something he had noticed she did often when they argued. He doubted it would help her anger to know he got a huge kick out of seeing her so riled up that she would subconsciously physically challenge him. It made him want to respond in kind, perhaps a little physicality was what she wanted. Dangerous thoughts of putting her over his knee lodged in his mind.

  “Well, for your information,” she continued, drawing his focus back to her words, “I had every intention of coming back, but seeing as you don’t trust me I might as well do what you expected and make a run for it. The end result will be the same, you’ll have me locked up back at your haunted castle in no time,” she caught her breath after her tirade and just stared at him, waiting for his returning argument.

  His lustful musings ceased as he listened. She was going to return, just as he had hoped. It warmed him in ways she couldn’t possibly know. But her lack of faith in their relationship caused him great sadness, had he really not shown her enough of his character for her to doubt his intentions? The fragility of her heart was evident in her tendency to only see the worst and believe it to be the truth.

  “Katherine,” by the look in her eyes, the softness in his tone surprised her. “I do trust you. I came here last night because I knew I would miss your presentation if I had to wait until sundown at Tumbricane before I could leave.”

  “Why, what’s so important about my presentation?” She countered, confusion marring her brow despite the heat that her voice still held.

  “It was important to you, so it became important to me.”

  “What? That is ridiculous, tell me the truth Lucian, what’s your game? What are you trying to get at?” Katherine stammered.

  “Tell me, Katherine, when was the last time you had someone to support you in your goals?” Lucian cocked his head to one side as he studied her.

  She sucked in a breath before huffing out her dismissal, her eyes darting away from his.

  “That isn’t what this is about.”

  “Why isn’t it about that? Why is it impossible to believe that I’m here purely because I wanted to support you because I wanted you to know that someone was there for you.”

  “Because,” Katherine started, her eyes beginning to shine, “because, you have no reason to want to do that. What am I to you, Lucian? I’m nothing special, I’m just some collateral for my father’s debt.”

  “That isn’t true,” Lucian stepped forward and gently brushed her flushed cheeks with the back of his fingers. If he were kind he might let the subject drop, she was clearly struggling with the concept of him caring about her, but he needed her to realise that not everyone would treat her like her parents had. He saw her for the wonder that she was, and he selfishly wanted to be the one to help her recognise that for herself.

  “Why? What do you want from me, Lucian? Please, just tell me,” she whispered, as she looked up into his eyes, the raw vulnerability he saw in her golden-brown gaze cut right to the heart of him. He wanted to be able to tell her he didn’t want anything from her, but that wasn’t true, and he had promised not to lie. He wanted everything from her, and he wanted to give her everything in fair exchange but saying as much would most likely scare her.

  “I care for you Katherine, deeply, and I wanted to show you. That was all,” he settled with, though he felt his words didn’t do justice to his own feelings.

  She sucked in a breath and closed her eyes at his words.

  “I’m not going to drag you back to Tumbricane with me, and to prove to you I’m not here to keep tabs on you, I’ll leave you now to enjoy an evening with your friends.”

  He dropped his hand from where he had held her face and stepped back. His body already lamenting the distance between them.

  Her eyes opened and pierced him through with a look of disappointment as she blinked back tears. He didn’t mean for her to cry, so he smiled kindly and took her hand in his to brush his lips across her knuckles.

  “Your presentation was brilliant. You were spectacular, Katherine. You always are.”

  He lowered her hand and gave her a swift nod, before turning on his heel to leave. He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to pull her into his arms and show her with his kiss how much she meant to him, but she needed trust. And trust was not built on passion.

  “Lucian, wait,” she called after him.

  He turned upon hearing the plea in her voice.

  “Yes, Katherine?”

  She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck pulling his lips down to crash against hers. His surprise was quickly replaced by hunger as she kissed him with an intensity and urgency he hadn’t expected. He buried his hands in her hair holding her captive while he swept his tongue into her mouth. Before he had a chance to claim her tongue, she pulled away.

  “I’m sorry,” she said breathlessly.

  “I don’t understand,” he frowned in confusion.

  “I’m sorry Lucian, I jumped to a conclusion and it was unfair. It’s just I’ve not had this kind of, this sort of,” her lips sought his once more and demanded another firm kiss.

  “You don’t need to apologise or explain. I overstepped the mark,” Lucian assured her, his lips reluctant to break away from hers.

  “Now I understand it, I like that you did,” she answered, between moans as he began nipping at her lower lip, teasingly. “Don’t go,” she pulled away fixing him with a demanding look, “stay. Come back to mine,” her voice was full of fiery promise.

  “I’m not accustomed to being ordered about; I rather like it,” Lucian smiled wickedly at her. The prospect of her using such a tone with him while she lay spread out on her bed for him to please, had his pulse racing.

  “Good, come on.”

  She grabbed his hand and dragged him along behind her while she navigated her way through various corridors, taking a side exit out onto the street.

  “Does your apartment have adequate protection against the sun’s rays?” Lucian asked with amusement.

  She paused and turned to face him.

  “No, does yours?”

  He nodded, with a wicked smile. “As much as I would love to go back to your place, and believe me it means a great deal that you invited me, I plan to pleasure you long after the dawn, so I’ll
need some protection from the sun.”

  Katherine’s eyes heated and she wet her lips. “Then you had better get me back to yours, Lord Nightingale.”

  With that, Lucian snatched her hand back and hailed a cab with a whistle.

  “As you wish, Miss. Daxton.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Katherine

  Silence enveloped them as they took the private elevator up to Lucian’s apartment. Katherine fought against the urge to fidget. She almost wished they could be caught up in a mad tangle of rushed and frenzied passion. It would have felt less intimate. Instead, her mind was currently running through every possible scenario as to what the man standing opposite her had planned once they stepped into his penthouse.

  The anticipation was killing her. The sense of impending passion hanging in the air between them like a heavy mist was making each breath feel laboured. They didn’t say a word as they stood facing each other in the small space. Lucian was eying her like the predator she knew him to be, but she refused to react as though she were his prey.

  As the elevator slowed to a stop, Katherine felt a thrill of excitement race down her spine. Lucian’s mouth curved into a smile that was loaded with dangerous intent. She kept his dark gaze and tried to make herself smile in response, instead all that came out was a quiet gasp as he took her hand in his and led her out into the large lobby. The place was clean and cool with floor-to-ceiling white marble, the delicate scribbles and smudges of pink and grey that graced its surface were the only hints of colour in the room. Walking through the simple yet imposing black door, Katherine’s jaw dropped at the view that greeted her.

  His apartment was huge, open-planned, and sparse. While the rooms at Tumbricane held a touch of opulence and had an old-world charm, Lucian’s city home took minimalism to the extreme. The same white marble floor continued throughout, only broken up by a few carefully selected pieces of gleaming black furniture, chosen to compliment the immaculate white kitchen with sparkling black granite tops.

  If she had been concentrating on just the room alone, Katherine would’ve shivered from the lack of warmth and life in the place. Instead, she shivered for an entirely different reason. The sparkling glow of the city lights beckoned from the wall of glass that was in front of her. She absently handed Lucian her jacket and bag as he went to take them from her, and drifted quietly towards the windows.

  She thought she loved city life, seeing it laid out in front of her as if she were a goddess looking down upon the world, made her heartbeat loudly in her chest. She’d never experienced the city from such a perspective and she suddenly felt like she were some kind of voyeur, guiltily enjoying a view of a world that had no idea that she was watching. She was so high up, she doubted if anyone would even be able to make out her silhouette at the window.

  “What are you thinking?” Lucian asked quietly from behind her.

  Katherine’s eyes refocused on the glass to look at him in the reflection.

  “It’s hard to know how I feel about this view. I’m trying to decide,” she answered honestly, “it’s undeniably beautiful and hypnotic but I’m not sure if being so apart from the bustle of the streets, the heartbeat of the city, is something to like or not.”

  “You prefer to be amongst the daily grind?”

  “Yes and no. I love the vibrancy, pace, and variety of city life but I can’t deny that being able to stand above it all and survey life as it happens, is oddly freeing. It’s strange. Standing right here I feel both liberated and shielded at the same time.”

  “Does it not make you sad? Looking down upon all that life and not being part of it?” Lucian asked, his eyes gazing far out at the twinkling lights.

  Katherine frowned at his sudden melancholy.

  “Just because I’m temporarily on the outside looking in, doesn’t mean I’m not living life. I’m just taking in a different perspective.”

  “And if that perspective wasn’t temporary? What if it were permanent?”

  Lucian turned and looked at her, the seriousness of his expression making her long to be able to bring him back to one of his lighter moods. The darkness that seemed to reside in him constantly was almost a visible shadow hanging around them.

  “I’d still be living my life, it wouldn’t mean I’d have to be alone.”

  She couldn’t resist it any longer, the desire to walk into him and ground him in the moment was too strong. She placed her hands on his chest and looked up into his eyes, hoping to revive him from whatever sombre thoughts were whirling around his mind

  “Aren’t you alone though, Katherine?” He asked, his arms wrapping around her.

  “I have friends,” she stammered, taken aback by his directness.

  “True friends? Or just acquaintances?”

  “I’m busy that’s all. I have ambitions that I’m focused on and that doesn’t leave much time for nurturing relationships,” the words felt empty even as she said them.

  “Reaching your goals and achieving your ambitions won’t hold the same reward if you have no-one with which to share it,” Lucian smiled softly at her, the tenderness in his eyes warming something inside her.

  He had turned up to her presentation today to support her, she reminded herself. She hadn’t asked him. Not that she would’ve. She didn’t need anyone there to support her. She was more than capable of doing it on her own. She always took care of things on her own, it was just how things were for her.

  Yet, a man she had known for only a matter of days had taken it upon himself to show up for her. It was unexpected. It was nice. It was more than nice. It made her light up inside. The only problem with that was the warning bell going off in her head, telling her that this wouldn’t last. He would let her down.

  Katherine looked up at Lucian and searched his eyes for the inevitable sign of betrayal. All she found looking back at her was that all-encompassing darkness, its steadiness, and surety holding her firmly in his gaze. It was an unrelenting, demanding constant that she could trust.

  Lucian was right. She needed to let someone in. She had kept herself guarded for so long to avoid the hurt that had threatened her throughout her life. She thought she was being smart by keeping her shields up, but all she was doing was paving the way for a life of loneliness. If she really was to be the strong and capable woman she was so desperate to prove herself to be, then she needed to be brave enough to take a risk.

  Her heart pounded against her chest as she slowly entwined her hands around the back of his neck. She wet her lips and tip-toed up to place a slow kiss on his mouth. He kissed her back gently, letting her set the pace.

  “Will you let me love you tonight?” Lucian asked, against her lips.

  Katherine nodded, and let a small smile play against her lips, “yes.”

  She quickly found herself lifted into his arms and nestled against his chest as he carried her across the vast room and up a set of floating stairs. It was unnecessary. She could’ve walked, but Katherine found she didn’t mind the gesture. She knew Lucian didn’t think any less of her for allowing it, and for tonight she had decided to give herself a break from constantly trying to be the person she thought she needed to be.

  He swept into his master suite, the lights flicking on as if automatically as he strode past the huge bed and into the well-appointed bathroom. He gently set her down and kissed her firmly before silently lifting at the hem of her shirt. Her hands reached for his jacket and slid it off over his shoulders. There was no fight for dominance this time, each of them were equal players, eager in their need to remove any barriers that stood between them.

  Lucian chuckled softly when his shirt sleeves caught on his cufflinks. Katherine let out a huff of frustration and his hands momentarily left her body to quickly unclasp the latch, dropping them and his shirt down onto the pile of clothes they were making on the floor. He knelt before her to slide her jeans down holding her hands for balance as she stepped out of them. Left in just her underwear, Lucian suddenly stepped away and ran his
eyes down her body.

  “Take them off for me,” Lucian commanded quietly as he watched her hungrily.

  She turned her back to him and quickly unclasped her black lace bra, letting it fall to the ground, then shimmied as seductively as she could out of her matching panties. Covering her chest with her hands, she turned back to face him, sucking in a breath when she realised how close he now was. His hands covered hers and pulled them away, revealing her breasts to him. His eyes roamed over her naked body with a look of pure desire. His hand lazily waved towards the glass-enclosed shower, water pouring instantly from overhead. Katherine wondered what else he was capable of doing with just his mind.

  As if he could tell what she was thinking, she felt a slight pinch on her nipples, making her let out a startled gasp. A knowing smirk lit up his face as he shucked out of the rest of his clothes and stood naked and confident in front of her. Katherine squeezed her legs together at the sight.

  As steam slowly began to fill the room, her eyes raked over him while a deep and demanding need to claim him as her own thrummed in her veins. His body was lean, every muscle defined for her viewing pleasure, his skin was pale and smooth and his chest flexed under her hungry gaze. She wanted to press herself against him, to enjoy the way their skin would slide against each other. She swallowed hard when she allowed herself to look at his impressive length.

  Yes, please.

  Her eyes traced leisurely back up to his face and Katherine smiled when she saw his amused look.

  “Am I not allowed to enjoy the view, Lord Nightingale?” She asked teasingly.

  “You may, but I cannot be held accountable for my actions if you continue to look at me like that for much longer,” he replied, his expression turning serious, “in the shower, Miss. Daxton. Now.”

  A shiver of anticipation gave her goosebumps as she turned and did as she was told. She wasn’t usually one to take orders, but as the hot spray began to caress her skin and she heard him enter the shower behind her, she had a feeling she was going to enjoy submitting to Lucian’s demands.